Power Rangers Chronic Storm 2: The Shifting Tides
by The Disney Brain
Summary: Without much reprieve, The Chronic Storm Rangers find themselves on another mission. But this time, things would be anything but straightforward. This time, enemies can come from anywhere.
1. Timelines

**Chapter 10: Timelines**

One victory, one mission, had already given way to another. The Chronic Storm Rangers, with assistance from several Ranger teams out of time, defeated the resistance and repelled the invasion of Earth. However, they now faced a much more daunting task: Admiral Axl, the elder brother of General Axis and former Triforian ruler. Recent reports label him as the primary suspect in an attack on the Zordina that left the entire planet crippled. The Rangers were currently on their way to Zordina, a planet located a considerable distance from Earth, to look for any clues as to the nature of this attack. The journey this time around would be close to a day, even with the Astro4's hyper drive operational again. The length of the trip gave the Rangers time to take a step back from everything, catch their collective breath, and enjoy each other's company. Even with Axl now looming over them, there was a palpable air of confidence from the team. All of them were certain of victory. All of them, except their leader.

On the Astro4, Carter was walking around the empty bridge, caught inside his own harrowing thoughts. He could almost hear it as if it were still happening all around him. The exploding ships, the eerie shrills of anguish before the comms cut off. Carter would look in the mirror some mornings and run his finger through the newfound strand of gray. It was easy to forget that it had only been five years. After two, he couldn't remember their names, even some of their faces. After two, all he could see was their colors. All he could recall were those back-up morphers being forced into circulation. It became no more complicated than replacing a faulty machine part. Another mission. Another team. The faces changed, but the colors never did.

Taylor approached the bridge while Carter was still lost inside his thoughts, trying to rub the irritation out of his heavy eyes. She walked up to him and gently nudged him, springing him back into reality. "Hey, is everything okay?"

"Yeah… yeah, just fine." Carter's tone was decidedly low in pitch, contrasting greatly from his customarily strong and assured delivery.

The weakness of his words was not lost on Taylor. "Are you sure about that?"

"Just… tired. I'll be sure to get some more shut eye after we discuss the mission."

"Good… We need you sharp out there."

Kendrix, Jason, and Ethan made their way to the bridge. The team then began discussing what they knew so far.

Ethan had been using a fair bit of time to try to uncover more about Admiral Axl. But his stoney expression told a clear tale. "I've been looking for hours through every channel and pathway that this ship has access to. But so far, all we have is a name. And no way to access Triforian servers either. They've got those things locked up tight."

"Axis wasn't engaging in hyperbole with his older brother," Jason said. "Not only did he end a race of strong and respected people, but he knows how to stay off the grid."

Taylor shook her head in disappointment. "If we can't even get intelligence on this guy, how do we even know he was the one responsible? Axis had plenty of allies out there during our last battle. Queen Diane isn't exactly short on enemies."

"My mother has dealt with the Triforians more than anyone. If she thinks that one of them did this, we ought to believe her. Plus, Zordina isn't allied to anyone."

"Guys," Carter added. "We need to focus on the bigger issue. We're dealing with someone who can take out an entire planet. A planet much bigger than Earth. We need to find out the what and the how and report it back before that kind of force can be used again. The who should come naturally."

"What's our plan for taking down Admiral Axl when we do find him?" asked Jason.

Carter sighed. "Hopefully, we can find a solution that doesn't involve a direct confrontation. Our mission is to gather more intelligence and let Queen Diane make the next call."

"Come on Carter, we're Power Rangers." Jason replied. "Think of what could happen if we let Axl slip through our fingers. More planets could suffer while we work out the political stuff. I say if we have a clear shot we take it."

"We don't know enough about what's going on to risk being rash. If we're forced to fight, we will, but I think we'd be better off sticking with our orders and our mission this time around."

"You've seen my new power in action. Between that and, you know, being a team, there's nothing we can't—"

"Jason, that's enough," Carter stated firmly. "Those weird powers of yours are another wildcard right now. We know nothing about them or what affects they might have on you if you keep using them. What's more, you tried playing hero once and if it wasn't for Alex, who knows what could have happened. Those are my orders."

The bridge grew deadly silent. Even Taylor was caught off guard by Carter's unusually aggressive stance. Jason started to get up and walk out of the room.

"We aren't done discussing the mission yet." said Carter.

"Oh, really?" Jason asked. "Well I think I am, seeing as how our mission is a pretty dumb one right now. I'll just head over to my quarters where my trying to do the right thing isn't a liability for anyone." Jason walked away.

"Jason, wait." Kendrix got up. "Don't worry, I'll talk to him." She followed him down the hall.

Carter sighed and walked back towards the front of the bridge to take a seat. "Ethan, keep looking. Whatever you can find. We've still got a couple hours."

"I'll get right on it." Ethan got up and walked out of the bridge.

While in his quarters, Jason was still reeling a bit from getting called out by Carter. He didn't want to sit there and take it back in the meeting, but he knew that Carter was right. He thought long and hard about everything he had been through to this point. _I know he's right. I know I screwed up sometimes looking for a fight, but I was doing the right thing… right?_

Just then, Jason heard a light tap upon his door and a soothing voice right after, "Is it okay if I come in? You're not naked in there right?"

Jason rose up and opened the door for Kendrix. "Hey… I'm sorry about getting carried away at the meeting. I just… I don't even know…"

"No need to apologize. It takes guts to stand up and challenge a guy like Carter, who you seem to have a lot of respect for. We both know he didn't mean to come off so harsh. He just cares about you. It kind of reminds me of the Corbett brothers from back home."

Jason was caught off guard by the comment. "I remind you of Leo…?" Jason smiled proudly to himself. "Heh, cool… wait, are you two…?"

"Haha, no, nothing like that. Maybe we could have been, for a time."

"For a time…?"

Kendrix smiled. "You don't need to worry about that. Although, your jealous side is kind of cute."

"Hehe… Ahem, anyways…" Jason's awkward smile was flipped into a fearful expression. "Truth be told, I'm really not looking forward to fighting another war for Earth against a guy we can't even find a picture of, let alone understand. Axis was one thing: he had a face and a few clear motives. But we still barely beat him. The idea of facing someone even worse… quite frankly, it scares the hell out of me. The real Ranger world, it's so much more complicated than the archives… I worry now that someday… I won't be able to figure it all out in time."

Kendrix held his hands. "I'm sure you also know that as a team, there's nothing we can't accomplish together. But that doesn't mean we have to go jumping into a brawl with every intergalactic villain that pulls out a big gun. We can outsmart this situation too, use what we do know and figure out more. I've never been a highly trained combat specialist, nor was most of my old team. I'm just a scientist, so I know that there's more to fighting than, well, fighting."

Jason took in her words and finally cracked something of a smile. "Does it ever get boring, being so right all the time?"

"Haha, not really."

They gave each other a big hug before Kendrix started to depart. She gave him one last warm, assured smile before she went off to her own quarters.

Her smile. It made Jason believe in things he assumed were nothing but fantasies before now. Like a cloudy sky penetrated by rays of sunshine offering a reprieve from the cold rain, her smile made Jason think, _Maybe… things will be alright_.

Just as soon, Jason began to have a horrible flashback to the time General Axis was torturing Kendrix right in front of him. The tears, the screams, the blood, the maniacal laughter. Jason tried to shake the thoughts away. _No…! I can't let anything like that happen to her, happen to anyone, ever again!_

Meanwhile, Carter had made his way up to the observation deck. The whole time, he had been trailed by Taylor who had yet to remove her concerned look. Neither said much to each other until Carter finally broke the silence. "I know, Taylor, I know… There was a better way to handle that."

"Yeah, that, and it's supposed to be my job to keep the kid in line. But I wanted to ask you something else."

Carter turned to face her.

"You're just like Ethan, Kendrix, and I; a Ranger from a different time. But you've been here, in this time, for what seems like a very long time. How'd you end up here? And why have you stayed so long?"

Carter looked to the ground and slowly nodded. "Assemble the team. I think it's their right to know the whole story."

Taylor contacted everyone to meet back inside the bridge. Jason walked a bit slower than normal, hesitant to get berated once more. Eventually, the team was all present. But when they looked at Carter, they didn't see frustration. They saw distress. It brought on concerned expressions amongst the group before Carter began to explain.

"Guys, there's a reason that I haven't been home in five years. And, as my teammates, you all deserve to know the truth."

Jason still vividly remembered the day Carter appeared. It was an exciting time for him and the kingdom. But, even for as long as he's known Carter, he had never heard the full story of his arrival.

The year was 2001. During this time, the Lightspeed Rescue Power Rangers were still operating in and around a city called Mariner Bay through their underwater Headquarters called the Aquabase. They were a few months removed from having stopped a demon named Queen Bansheera and her underlings; the biggest threat to the world at the time. The team was still around however, ready for whenever they would be called into action once more. As fate would have it, a demon general named Vypra resurfaced during that year. It took Carter's Lightspeed Rescue team and the Time Force Power Rangers to stop her. The true beginning of Carter's time traveling tale however, began immediately after, when the team returned to the Aquabase after helping put away Vypra again.

"Woo, I'm beat," said Kelsey, the Yellow Lightspeed Rescue Ranger. "I'm thinking lunch!"

"I'd second that." replied Joel, the Green Ranger.

"You guys go on ahead," Carter added with a smile. "I'll catch up after I deliver a full report to Captain Mitchell."

The team raced to the Aquabase kitchen to begin preparing a celebratory feast while Carter entered Captain Mitchell's office. Mitchell was sorting through some paperwork when he noticed Carter and rose from his chair. Carter stood at attention.

"The mission went well?" asked Mitchell.

Carter nodded. "Vypra returned, sir. But with the help of the Time Force Rangers, we were able to stop her. Hopefully for good."

Just as soon, a proximity alert sounded. Something was approaching the Aquabase from the outside. Mitchell immediately got into contact with the lead scientist on the Aquabase: Ms. Angela Fairweather. "Ms. Fairweather, what do we have?"

"One very weak signature, Captain. It's not a demon, but it's fading quickly." replied Ms. Fairweather.

"Sir, we can handle this." added Carter.

"Approach with caution. Weak signature or not, we have to believe that Vypra's return wasn't an accident."

"Understood, sir." Carter quickly left Mitchell's office and joined his team.

The Rangers made their way outside and were shocked to find an injured and crawling woman just outside of the Aquabase doors. She was a slightly older looking, scarred, bruised, and bloodied Queen Diane. "P… Please… h-help… me…"

Dana, the Pink Ranger and medical expert, moved quickly to assess her condition. She then called for a stretcher to come out from inside the base. "We're going to get you inside, don't worry."

Dana and Carter both helped Diane onto the stretcher that came out while she faded in and out of consciousness. They then followed her inside while Dana began observing and treating her wounds.

Kelsey looked upon Diane with a mournful expression and shook her head. "Who could have done this?"

"She looks like she's been through war." replied Ryan, the Titanium Ranger.

"Maybe Captain Mitchell was right," Carter said. "Maybe Vypra wasn't the only demon to come back."

"Aww man!" Joel reacted. "I am _not_ putting off another honeymoon. That cruise was non-refundable."

Just then, Diane's body started quivering and her eyes began to slowly open.

"Guys, she's finally waking up." said Dana.

Diane's eyes darted back and forth, confused by her new location. Then, she looked to Carter. "C-Carter… Grayson."

Carter's eyes widened. "You know me?"

"I… know of you. My son… he's an admirer of your work." Diane lifted herself out of the hospital bed and stood on her own two feet. Her breathing was still labored and her legs started to quiver under the weight of her body.

"You shouldn't be walking yet." Dana stated.

Diane waved away Dana's concerns. "My health is of no consequence. Carter Grayson, I need to speak with you. It's a matter of life or death."

"Life or death…?" asked Carter.

"I'll start with this: I'm not from this time, not even close. My name is Diane Cahill, and in my time, I am Queen of Earth as well as the grand unifier of the universe. As such, many also refer to me as Queen of the Universe."

Joel chuckled a little. "Dana, I think you missed a spot upstairs."

"Not funny, Joel." replied Dana.

Diane glared at Joel. "Do I look to be in a joking mood? Do you believe my injuries were caused by, what? Mere happenstance!? No… we were caught off guard… and the Earth paid the price for my lack of awareness…" Diane's eyes started to water thinking back to the horrible war she endured. "I… lost my son… I lost everything…"

Carter calmly approached her. "Ma'am, I'll hear out what you have to say. And if I we can help, then we will."

Diane took a deep breath, wiped the tears from her eyes, and took a few moments to ready herself. Then she explained, "In the year 2985, my Universal Monarchy was officially established. Shortly after, the Triforians began banning together rogue star systems and leading a resistance against my rule. We would go on to battle them for years with moderate success, but then, a new General by the name of Axis started giving us problems for which we had no solution. It wasn't the savagery or bruteness of the battles before. He was cunning, conniving, calculating. And then… five years after that war began, the war was lost and the Earth fell… My good friend Professor Knox found a way to finish a prototype of a time warp device. The Triforian forces were closing in on my palace to make the end official. In a state of desperation, I used that technology while I watched my allies and comrades mercilessly slaughtered before me, swearing to them that I would rectify my greatest failure. My son, he often spoke of the Power Rangers. He knew practically everything about the heroes lost to time, but capable of unparalleled wonders. He often spoke of you, Carter. That's why I'm here. To save the future, the Earth, and the entire universe, we need the Power Rangers to return."

The others stood in complete shock upon hearing the story unfold. They all looked around at each other, but none could come up with a response. None except Carter, "What exactly do you need me to do?"

"Carter, are you seriously buying this?" asked Joel.

Diane started coughing up blood and fading in and out of consciousness. Dana approached her, but Diane motioned her away. "There's… nothing more that… can be done for me… This is it… You are my very last hope, Carter. I need you to… travel back to the year 2985, before the conflict starts… Convince a younger version of myself to bring back the… Power… Rangers…"

Diane fell to the floor. Her life continued to fade away. She used what remained of her strength to place a blue, circular device in Carter's hand that looked more advanced than anything he had ever seen before. "This device… it shall explain… everything… Save… the universe… save… my… s… son…" Diane's breathing suddenly stopped as her body remained still on the floor.

"Dana, can you save her!?" asked Carter.

Dana observed Diane's condition and quickly took her pulse. She then shook her head in disbelief. "She's gone… her injuries were far too substantial to recover from. It's a miracle she even lasted this long."

Carter stared intently at the device in his hands. It looked somewhat similar to the Time Force technology he had seen just a day ago.

"You're actually thinking about going through with this?" asked Ryan.

Carter held tight to the device and nodded. "She wouldn't have come all the way here for nothing. She died… just on the off chance that I could help."

"If you're going, we're going." stated Kelsey.

Chad, the Blue Ranger, nodded in agreement.

Joel was less than enthusiastic about the idea, but he still nodded all the same. His team needed him, so he was going to be there.

"Guys, that means a lot," Carter said. "But Mariner Bay still needs the Power Rangers too. Yesterday it was Vypra. For all we know, it could be Diabolico tomorrow."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Ryan.

Carter nodded. "This is the right thing to do."

Soon after, just outside the Aquabase, Carter activated the device and a blueish-white time portal opened up right before him. His team looked on astonished by the advanced technology. Carter looked back at everyone and gave them a confident nod. They all nodded back.

Dana walked up to him and hugged him. "Come back soon."

"I will." Carter embraced her back. "Keep an eye on these guys. Especially Joel."

"Heard that." added Joel.

Captain Mitchell gave Carter a confident nod. "Go save the world."

"You can count on me, sir." Carter turned back around, took a deep breath and entered the portal. As his body disappeared through the swirling hues, the portal closed behind him. Carter was then instantly transported to Earth, 2985. The bright sights and loud sounds immediately struck his senses as he turned his gaze upwards. His jaw dropped as lines of flying ships painted the purple, midday sky. Tall white buildings covered the skyline and busy streets defined the surface level. And just behind, a silver and dark green colored palace that stole away the entire scene, dwarfing the other buildings in height.

Carter's eyes and head darted all over, taken aback by setting. Every new vantage point was a novel discovery, images he could never have even imagined. "Incredible… So this is the real deal."

Carter then regained his focus and observed the device Diane had given him. After some fiddling, the device started to churn and beep before projecting directions and beginning a voice communication. Carter could tell it was Diane's voice, "Carter, explaining things to my past self may prove troubling at first. Lead with this specific date." A date appeared alongside an explanation of its significance. "Knowing me, the rest should handle itself."

The communication faded away and Carter began traversing the kingdom to search for the Diane of the past. He didn't have to search for long, as he found her in the middle of some kind of city-wide celebration. It looked to be a parade of some sort with hundreds upon hundreds of people filling up the city streets. Carter tried to push himself through the commotion once he witnessed Diane waving to the jubilant crowd while riding on a heavily armored vehicle. She and Jason who sat next to him were also under the watchful eye of a platoon of heavily armored, heavily weaponized soldiers.

He tried to move in closer, but a pair of guards stopped him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I need to speak with the Queen. It's urgent."

Diane noticed the commotion Carter was causing. A 19 year old Jason also noticed the commotion. His eyes were about ready to pop out of his head upon recognizing the man at the center of it. "Mother! Mother! That man right there! He looks just like Carter Grayson!"

Diane rolled her eyes. "Not this Power Rangers obsession again. Would you give it a rest for even a moment?"

Carter tried to get Diane's attention as her vehicle drove past. "Queen Diane! I need to speak with you! My name is Carter Grayson!" But his words didn't seem to be getting through the crowd noise. Carter sighed, realizing he had no choice as he looked at his morpher.

"Lightspeed Rescue!"

Carter morphed into the Red Ranger, much to the amazement of the onlookers and shock of the guards. The Queen's guards wasted little time surrounding him as the festivities grinded to a halt. Carter placed his hands above his head. "I'm not here to cause any trouble. But I need to speak to the Queen."

Then, Jason jumped out of the transport and ran up to him.

"Jason! Get back here!" cried Diane.

Jason squeezed through the guards and stared up and down at Carter's Lightspeed attire with jaw firmly agape. "No… way… no way! You're really him!"

"You must be the son." replied Carter.

Diane got in front of Jason and glared at Carter while her guards forced the horde of civilians back. "You'd better have a damn good reason for interrupting my festival."

Carter nodded while slowly undoing and removing his helmet. "There's trouble coming. I'm here to help stop it."

"Help? Just who are you?"

"Carter Grayson, Lightspeed Rescue Red Ranger."

Diane looked at Jason's giddy expression before deeply sighing. "You've got to be kidding me…"

"I wish I were, ma'am. Your son seems to know me. If needs be, I can prove my identity."

Diane gave him a serious look before turning back to Jason. "Go on then."

"Me!? Really? Okay okay… um… Oh! I got it! Before you were a Ranger, you were what?"

Carter nodded. "A firefighter."

"That's correct! But, why did you become one?"

"When I was a little boy, I was saved by one after my house caught fire. Turns out, the man that saved me was none other than Captain Mitchell, leader of the Aquabase."

Jason smiled. "There's no doubt about it. He's THE Carter."

Diane sighed again, already drained by the afternoon's events. "Very well, THE Carter. I shall grant you an audience. But be warned, I am not tolerant of wasted time."

"Understood, ma'am. I'll get right to the point."

"But not here. If these matters of yours are as dire as you claim, we'll discuss them privately in my meeting room. Guards, escort us back to the palace at once."

After settling the confusion, Diane invited Carter to her personal meeting room. It was one of several very large, very high ceiling rooms inside the immense palace at the center of the city. Carter continued to be floored by the interesting mixture of advanced and old fashioned that defined the palace. Old-timey pillars would suddenly transform themselves into transportation pods to get to other palace floors.

Carter then explained Diane the situation so far, and how her future self had warned her about the coming threat of Triforia.

"Triforia…" Diane covered the scars on her neck. "Those senseless savages are nothing me and my forces haven't handled before. I know not of any General Axis, but their current ruler General Pyreus is as predictable as they come. He hasn't even attempted so much as an idle threat in over a decade. Why should I bother making any special preparations for their kind?"

"Because, they'll be back, ma'am. And they'll be back soon with a stronger resistance. And before too long, they'll have Axis leading the charge. Your future self told me he's not like other Triforians."

Diane thought carefully about his words. "Time travel has been lost to us for centuries. Not even my brightest mind can fully decipher its intricacies as of yet. I didn't come this far in life by taking people at their word. For all I know, you could be a spy sent specifically to incite an internal unrest, thus granting this so called resistance an avenue to cease an advantage. Given that, give me one good reason to believe your remarkably unbelievable claims."

Carter nodded. "I'm a Power Ranger, ma'am. Keeping the world safe is what we do. I think your son knows that too."

"My son and his spandex fascination make for a very unconvincing argument."

"Okay, fair enough… August 31st, 2975. That's the day, isn't it? The day you realized you were pregnant?"

Diane's eyes widened as she rose from her chair. "Who told you of that day?!"

"You did." Carter undid his morpher and placed in on Diane's desk. "We have five years to prepare for Axis, but we have much less time to stop the resistance. In the future, the war that's coming is a war we lose. But with the Power Rangers, we've got a shot."

Diane calmed herself down. She picked up Carter's morpher and carefully observed it. "It took years of conflict and strife to build my kingdom from nothing. And I'm about to place my future, all of our futures, in the hands of my son's fairy tales."

"With all due respect, they weren't fairy tales for us, ma'am."

Diane looked out her window and took a deep breath. "Tell me more about these Power Rangers."

"It would be my honor. But I only know so much myself. The Aquabase didn't exactly offer a class on Ranger History."

"Not to worry. Thanks to my good friend Professor Knox introducing my son to your tales, we have more recorded and archived accounts of you and your adventures than I'd care to admit. For as intolerable as his rabid fandom proved to be, it was impossible for me to not pick up on a few things. Hmm, do you ride around in a dragon, or was that someone else?"

"Umm, no ma'am. Don't think I've ever seen a dragon either."

"In any case, don't think you've earned my trust quite yet. I'll be keeping a very close eye on you while we work through this process. Professor Knox learned of your legacy through his Time Force associations. He'll be able to help us keep the legacy going."

"Time Force…?" Carter then remembered his previous team up. "That's right, they come from the future too."

"I can more than provide the resources, but you'll need to provide the training. As it stands, you're the only being on this planet who knows what it takes to be a true Power Ranger."

Carter nodded. "Give me a few months. By then, I'll have a team that you can put your faith in."

Over the next few months, Professor Knox and his team of scientists spent long days and frustrating nights studying and analyzing Carter's morpher from the laboratory inside the Moonbase. It took tedious work, but in time, Knox managed to unlock the secrets behind Carter's connection to a peculiar biological energy source known as The Morphing Grid. And with the discovery, a brand new set of morphers were created. Copious amounts of trial and error went into testing the morphers before the scientists had finally found a way to materialize a very basic looking, red-colored, tight fitting uniform that could withstand several times the wear and tear a normal human body could. There was jubilation across the Moonbase. Phase 1 had been completed.

Phase 2 meant creating multiple morphers and fully designing the suits and weapons. There was a great deal of debate over what the final suit designs should look like. During the process, several of the scientists started watched the Ranger archives for inspiration. The result: a divided lab where some wanted animal themed suits and others prefered a sleeker, more professional design.

Diane eventually broke the standoff by suggesting using the old Operation Overdrive suits as a basis for the current iterations, specifically the silver-colored Mercury Ranger design. She didn't have a particular reason to side with the sleeker look, she just like the name of the Ranger team itself. Suffice to say, none on the side of animals dared to speak up against her. Unlike the Overdrive team however, there was to be a Green Ranger instead of Black. Talks of a Sixth Ranger naturally started to stir, but no Sixth Ranger morpher was ever authorized. And with that, the designs were revised, including wrap around visors, highly effective blasters, and a variety of advanced gadgets, including a portable EMP device. A hexagonal logo would grace the chest area of each Ranger suit as well, symbolizing the latest team of Power Rangers.

While Phase 2 continued on, Phase 3 arrived: recruitment. Carter and Diane built and established the Ranger Academy: an institution specifically designed to teach and train the future protectors of the kingdom of Earth, and the universe. It was a simple but functional all white building with a giant communications tower positioned at the top. Within this "Ranger University," so to speak, incoming students would learn all about Ranger History, methodology, technology, fighting of course, and the myriad of ways that threats could appear. There was a limit to the more traditional subjects in order to focus on preparing future Rangers, but courses in advanced chemistry, physics, engineering, amongst others, were deemed necessary. Such knowledge could go a long way in dealing with opponents who utilize based in those fields.

With months now having passed, both Carter and Diane grew increasingly anxious of the promised threat. However, they had yet to hear much from the Queen's sources of intel beyond their sector of space. Neither Triforia, nor the resistance was making any noise, and that was perhaps even more disconcerting. But if nothing else, it allowed Diane to eventually see Carter as someone worth trusting, worth placing her faith in.

Diane and Carter were walking into the Academy one day. Diane was occupied with her thoughts, and then gave off a slight chuckle.

"A rare laugh. Should I be worried?" asked Carter.

"An idea occurred to me just now. This team of Rangers we're constructing requires a proper title. My son was… well… acting out a scene he was watching, I suppose. Something related to the Rangers giving someone a headache. Some oddly clad witch with a high pitched voice. In any case, it gave me an idea: Chronic Storm."

Carter did not looked convinced. "Chronic Storm…? No disrespect, but it sounds more like a really bad disease than a team of heroes."

Diane smirked. "Exactly. We shall give our enemies headaches, or what have you. We will make them ill at the mere mention of our name. We will let them know that who we are, what we're doing, will not go away. That's why I decided to add those clock hands to the chest design."

Carter was starting to get the idea. "Clever. I think I can get behind that. I don't know if it'll sell with the team though."

Then, an alert sounded throughout the Academy. Diane and Carter immediately rushed to the top floor, a floor that held a Central Command Center from which to monitor the goings on both domestic and abroad. It was there where Professor Knox awaited them.

"My Queen!" he said. "We have a reported attack on KO-35."

"Who dares attack a unified nation?"

"It's the Triforians, just as you had feared, My Queen."

Diane grew frustrated. "A tad later than we expected."

"Times have changed," Carter added. "And the result will too. We can handle it, ma'am."

Diane nodded. "Assemble the team you think best and wipe them out."

"Wipe them out…?"

"An attack on a unified nation brings with it the immediate dismissal of diplomacy. Wipe them out. End of discussion."

Carter hesitated to speak.

"Did I make myself clear?"

Carter nodded. "We'll take care of it, ma'am."

Carter raced out of the room and pushed a button on his morpher, activating communications with his four best students to this point. All four were relatively young, none older than 22, and only one having seen true combat beyond the bounds of this building. A bit removed from Carter's more refined age and experience. He issued them their new uniforms and morphers, thus officially minting Chronic Storm's first ever team of Power Rangers.

Gavin and Rio, the Yellow and Green Rangers respectively, had become good friends over the course of their time at the Academy. They could hardly contain their excitement, having been chosen together. The Pink Ranger, Rydel, was a favorite student of Carter's. She was both disciplined and likable all in one. The Blue Ranger, Keanu, didn't say much, but there was a bit of relief and excitement buried under his stoic expression. He was by far the most talented fighter among this team, perhaps even more skills than Carter himself.

Carter remembered their names, their faces. Both were etched into his mind. As he recanted the tale however, he started to have doubts regarding his memories. He couldn't say for sure if the faces he was remembering were from team 1, possibly team 3, maybe even team 6…? His recollection grew foggier by the minute. He couldn't even tell his current team which number they were.

The brand new team had no Zords. Diane couldn't justify the hefty price tag what with perfectly viable space vessels already at their disposal. Plus, she was adamant that they'd be shot out of space long before any thinking enemy would allow them time to transform. But the silver and green assault ships they did have seemed more than capable of handling themselves in the dogfight to come. The team blasted off towards KO-35, making the jump to lightspeed once they were clear off the Earth's atmosphere.

Only thirty minutes passed them by before they dropped out of lightspeed. As soon as they entered the scene, Triforian ships had already begun firing upon them. Every single one of them was built with a thick coat of black to better blend into the backdrop of space. Tracking them down the more traditional way was an implausible tactic.

"Everyone, ready weapons," Carter ordered. "We disable their engines and take them prisoner, understood?"

"Understood!" replied the others. But within seconds, Rio's ship was blown up, lighting up the void of space with a white explosion.

"RIO!" Gavin cried out.

"NO!" cried Carter. "Evasive maneuvers! Now!"

The four remaining ships ducked under the incoming laser fire. But they kept on taking hits and their ships shields became progressively compromised. Inside one of these Triforian fighter ships, a younger Axis was leading a squad of five towards where the Rangers were fending off the assault. As he observed them, their design caught his attention. "Hmm, those look like Earth-based vessels. Fighters 4 and 5, peel off left and flank the incoming squadron. Aim to kill. General Pyreus desires no survivors."

The two fighters peeled off to deal with the Chronic Storm team, coming at them from behind. The Rangers took on heavy fire, but managed to survive the first barrage. Carter and Keanu quickly turned his ship around and blasted the pair of Triforian fighters right out of existence.

"Two down!" Carter stated.

"And a thousand more to go." added Keanu.

Axis noticed his fighters exploding, but did not panic. In fact, he couldn't help but smirk a bit at the newfound challenge of this unknown adversary. "Interesting… I'm going after them. Fighters 1, 2, and 3, cover me."

The remaining trio of fighters followed his craft towards the Rangers and immediately started firing upon them.

"Taking on heavy fire!" Carter's controls were starting to jam up\\. Out of the corner of his eye, in the middle of the madness, he could see his Rydel straying off from the others. "Rydel! Wait, stay in formation!"

"Lieutenant Axis," stated one of the fighters. "That stray fighter is approaching General Pyreus' ship."

Axis observed the ship and considered his options. "Let it go. Formation R-12. Let's end this." Axis' fighters spread out wide and soon overwhelmed the other two Chronic Storm vessels on either side of Carter. They quickly were blown away, with their cut off communications of anguish filled screams left as a lingering memory. Keanu and Gavin had fallen.

"All too easy." said Axis.

"NO…!" Carter then realized his ship was moving backwards. It was overriding his control and employing an automatic retreat. "What's going on? No, stop, we have to keep fighting!"

Diane's voice sounded through the ship's communications, "That's not up to you to decide. We've lost this one."

Carter could only stare helplessly into the void of space while KO-35 sent ship after ship to face off against the invading forces only to have each and every one mercilessly gunned down by the might of Triforia.

"Don't worry Carter," communicated Rydel. "I'll make sure there's hell to pay for this." She fired at the overwhelmingly large lead Triforian ship, a ship that would someday soon belong to an up and coming Axis. But not a speck of damage was done. She was quickly shot out of space. There was no outcry on anguish. Just a silence splattering of bright light before fading away into emptiness. Rydel was gone.

"Lieutenant Axis, we have good news," communicated one of his fighters. "General Pyreus was unharmed during that last run."

"Yes… good news indeed…" Axis collected his thoughts before re-focusing on the battle at hand. "Sweep around and deal with the remaining KO-35 pilots. Then, let us celebrate our latest victory, for all shall soon be made aware of the resistance."

Carter watched over the empty void of space through his ship window as it piloted itself back to Earth. His hands still shook from the ordeal, his heart pounding, his body heavy, while his mind raced to make sense of it all. He tried to piece together where he failed, what he could have done, if he could have saved them, but nothing was coming together in his mind. He wondered if he would ever see home again.

The second Carter touched down on Earth, he rushed towards Diane's main palace office. Diane noticed him and motioned him to sit down. She was going over the footage and data readouts of their last fight. "Excellent work, Carter."

Carter looked up at her in unsettling amazement. "What are you…? We lost everyone!"

"We lost a few pilots. We have an entire Academy of those. But none of this works without you leading it. In any case, we gathered valuable information regarding the attack patterns of their ships. We'll be better prepared next time."

Carter shook his head in disbelief. "You wanna tell that to the families of the four brave Rangers that died today? You wanna tell them that we just lost a few pilots?"

Diane glared back at him. "That fight is over. Bury it. Leave it behind. Now is the time to prepare for the next one. Assemble a new team and have them ready for the next Triforian offensive. Professor Knox should already have four new morphers ready."

Carter removed himself from his seat and started to walk out, but then stopped and turned back around. "...Did you know…? Did you know you were sending them to their deaths?"

"Of course I didn't know. But this is war. There's nothing more we can do for the dead. Focus on protecting what's still alive and we might just win. That is all."

Carter left Diane's office, still in a dazed and confused state. He soon found Jason sitting near the door, clearly trying to listen in on the meeting. The hopeful look on his face told Carter that he didn't hear much.

"Did you win?" asked Jason.

Carter didn't have the heart to tell Jason the truth. He tried to push the last mission to the back of his mind. "Not yet, Jason… But we will. The Power Rangers always do."

Jason smiled widely. "Can I come next time? I can fly a ship you know. Professor Knox taught me. I'm tough too. Mother never wants to teach me how to fight, but I can learn pretty fast."

"Maybe someday… But for now, stick close to the ground, where it's safe."

Jason started to pout. "Awww, but I'm always safe. It's no fun."

Carter began walking away, trying to focus and straighten his fractured mind, as he now had to put together a brand new team. The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that perhaps Rio was actually the second Green Ranger.

For five long years, Carter would be putting together the team after team. For five long years, team after team fell at his feet, whether the mission was successful or not. For five long years, Knox needed to order new parts for replacement morphers. For five long years, names and faces faded away, turning into nothing but bodies and numbers inside color-coded suits.

Back in the present day, the rest of the team was taking in Carter's tale. They could all feel his devastation, his lose, despite his attempts to mask it behind his poised, emotionally balanced story delivery.

"So let me see if I'm getting all this," Taylor said. "Queen Diane from a different timeline fought and lost a war. But she was able to go back in time to find you and bring back the Power Rangers?"

Kendrix added on, "And you stayed here all this time, leading missions with the Rangers you helped train."

"That's the sum of it," Carter replied. "I wanted to go back home to my time, to my team, but I couldn't. Diane kept finding ways to convince me that these Rangers weren't ready yet and that I was the only one who could lead them… Just as I began thinking my work here was done, there was more on the docket for us. Sometimes it felt like seconds in between missions, kind of like how it feels right now… It took such a toll on them… so many good Rangers and better people, lost forever… because I couldn't do enough to save them."

Carter started getting visibly emotional for the first time that Jason could ever recall. "Aliens, wars, time travel… I'm just a firefighter…"

After a few moments of contemplative silence, Jason stood up. "I couldn't understand the gravity behind many of your words before, Carter. But I understand now."

Carter looked at him and faintly smiled. "No more solo missions?"

"Heh, only if you order it."

"But then who's Taylor gonna yell at?" Ethan asked.

Taylor glared at Ethan. "When we finish this mission, I won't have to yell at anyone. We'll be your last team, Carter. And after that, I think you'll have earned yourself some vacation time."

Carter chuckled a bit. "Captain Mitchell always tells me the same thing, but I never get around to using those days."

"Same here," added Kendrix. "Commander Stanton had to force me off of my work station."

"Really?" Ethan asked confused. "Am I the only one here that actually likes vacation?"

"I've only been one one, sooo…" replied Jason.

"We'll think about all that later," Carter said. "Right now we have a mission to see through."

"And some intel to collect," Jason replied. "No need to turn every mission into an all-out brawl, right?"

Carter nodded and patted him on the back. "I don't know Taylor, looks like he's growing up to me."

Taylor half smiled. "We'll see."

The team meeting brought with it a new, refined air of resolve, of confidence. Taylor, Kendrix, Ethan, and Jason. Carter would not soon forget these names, these faces.


	2. Barren

**Chapter 11: Barren**

The modern day universe existed in the form of quadrants. Within the second quadrant, a stretch of space adjacent to the Earth-residing first quadrant, not much intelligent life or noteworthy planets existed. But, a mysterious planet that few are privy to was located near the quadrant's edge. It's there where General Axis would seek an audience with a rather "unique" individual.

Axis landed and ordered his men to stay inside the ship. As he disembarked, he was greeted by a bevy of animal-like robotic soldiers that held him at gunpoint. He couldn't help but smirk at their efforts.

"Halt, identification please!" stated a rabbit-like robot.

"Now now, no need to get all cross-wired. I seek the good Doctor who runs things around here."

"You are piloting an unauthorized vessel," proclaimed a gorilla-like robot. "By my risk assessment calculations, you present a potential threat to our master!"

"Well, you can't say I didn't try to reason with you fellows." Axis built up his lightning powers and quickly unleashed a wave of electrical energy, decimating the hordes of robots surrounding him.

Axis looked pleasingly upon his new metallic glove. "Very nice, my new lightning glove modifications are working well."

"You call that well?" a haggard voice from the darkness called out. "I could feel the amperes from here. My friend, I'd call that performance problems."

The man who then appeared was on the older side with a bald head, but still looked somewhat spry. His eyebrows seemed to twitch quite a bit, however. It was rather unsettling.

"And you'd know all about performance problems, wouldn't you?" Axis asked.

"Well, one in three men. Anyways, why have you come here? And in a ship that is not your normal ship, which forces me to also ponder as to the whereabouts of your actual ship."

"Heh, I may have swayed those Ranger fools into believing that Axl was responsible for what happened on Zordina. But, I think we both know who is truly capable of this level of madness, Rizan."

The old man cringed at the word. "Oh come on, with the first name thing and— Okay okay, please refer to me by my preferred title, hehehehe, Doctor Madman!"

"But of course, er, Doctor… must I really say such an absurd title? It isn't even the slightest bit subtle."

Madman started pacing around back and forth. "You know what just keeps doing jumping jacks in my brain? The thought of WHY ARE YOU HEEEEEERE?! You can't prove that I took down Zordina, and even if I did, which by the way, is not any form of legal confession. But, _if_ I did, what's it matter to you?"

"I only seek to know the how and the why. That is, if you would be so kind as to indulge me, Doctor."

Madman looked to the right and left of him while wearing a confused look. "Doctor…?"

"Oh please no…"

Madman cupped his ear with his hand. "What was that?"

Axis let out a heavy sigh. "...Doctor Madman…"

"Hehehe, you're damn right. Well, it goes something like this: Zordina was within firing distance, soooooooo, I destroyed it. Or, more to the point, them. The planet itself is fine… kind of… mostly, look, I'm sure there's still a tree or two."

Madman's explanation quickly placed a thought is Axis' head. "You said you were able to destroy the living inhabitants of Zordina without so much as denting the actual planet?"

"Very much so. It's something I developed a few years ago for Queen Diane. But since I'm, well, here and not in some comfy castle, you can just guess what happened to that job. I didn't even get to finish my designs before my old colleague got all high horse on me with his damn moral compass. But then I found this perfectly desserted planet and went wild."

Axis giggled slightly. He now had all the information he needed to enact his revenge open the Queen. "You were an ally to the Queen, betrayed by those around you."

"Sure."

"So you took this weapon for a joyride at the expense of Zordina just as she began thinking the war was won."

"Sure…?"

"Interesting. We have a common enemy."

"Sure!"

"I believe I can help you complete your vengeance in exchange for doing something for me: allowing me to use that weapon."

"Hmmmmm… okay."

Axis looked taken aback. "What…? That's it? That's all you needed hear to agree to this partnership?"

"Partnership may be a stretch. I feel like I'm doing a lot of the… stuff, in this situation, but yeah. If you can get me a date with the Queen? The weapon is yours to zap whoever you want."

Axis gently smirked as he considered his next move. "The Earthers won't take kindly to my escape. They'll be looking for me with great fervor, I suspect. We must proceed carefully."

Madman looked down upon his beige and brown attire and sighed. "I'd better go put on some spiffier clothes. Cannot meet the Queen looking like this. No can do."

While a sinister plot was brewing on the edge of the Second Quadrant, back on the Astro4, the day's journey had taken the Rangers a considerable distance away from the Earth. But the team was finally closing in on the location of Zordina. Initial surface scans were coming up empty, meaning that there was no trace of active life anywhere. The atmosphere was heavy and filled to the brim with dark reddish-orange clouds as the Astro4 initiated its final landing procedures. The ground proved no different. Zordina was not known for its vast deserts. Yet, this barren wasteland was all that remained.

From the bridge, Carter went over the plan one more time with the team, "Okay guys, we all know what we have to do: Cover the perimeters and report back anything that could give us any clues on what happened here."

"We'd better stay morphed up," added Ethan. "I'm picking up insane amounts of iron oxide in the air."

"Rust? But why?" asked Taylor.

"Zordina is famous for its high powered machines," replied Jason. "They even lent a few of their Zords to the Rangers way back when. To think they could have been beaten like this…"

The Rangers morphed up and began to explore the surface of Zordina with hoverbikes that were given to them by Time Force before their departure. The Rangers searched miles of isolated orange and red land formations alongside desolate cities and towns with no sign of any sustenance. No Zordinians, nor any recognizable form of vegetation could be seen. What was immediately clear is that Zordina hadn't been destroyed, but rather, it had been stripped of life.

After a few hours, Carter had the entire team report back to the Astro4 to discuss the chilling site.

"Not a single sign of life anywhere on the planet," said Taylor. "I don't understand how this could have happened."

Kendrix nodded and added on, "There's that, and the fact that all of the buildings remained mostly intact from what I could gather. It's as if everyone just left the planet to die."

Jason shook his head. "Zordina must have been blind-sided. Their kind isn't known to run and hide from what few threats they get. Most of the time, their guns are just bigger."

"But not this time." Carter continued to think through the situation. "If you ask me, it sounds similar to the weapon that—" Carter then immediately looked towards the others with a shocked expression. "It's just like the weapon Professor Knox and Queen Diane were developing!"

"That's impossible!" replied Jason. "That weapon wasn't finished and Prof. Knox refused to help Axis build it. Nobody else could have those designs."

Taylor shook her head. "No… nobody else _should_ have those designs."

A strange air of contemplative silence broke over the team before Ethan commented, "Here's what I'm thinking: General Axis had those plans, but Knox rejected him. So maybe after that, he transferred them to Admiral Axl who he knew could finish constructing it. Maybe get on his brother's good side? We still don't know why Zordina was hit, right? But if he's the bad man Axis says he is, he could have done it just because. It's sick… but it's possible."

Jason nodded excitedly. "That must be it, good thinking Ethan!"

Taylor however, didn't look entirely convinced of his theory.

Just then, the Astro4 was alerting the Rangers to a message that had been transmitted to them from Earth. Ethan hopped onto the console controls to play the message. "Guys, it's Queen Diane."

Diane appeared on screen to deliver a pre-recorded message. "Rangers, we have some troubling news: not too long after your departure to Zordina, it had been reported that General Axis had escaped custody at Time Force. Currently, we're putting everything we have into finding him and re-apprehending him. Also, you are to report back to me at once with everything you have collected from Zordina. I assume by the time you receive this transmission you will have found as much as you can. That is all."

The transmission cut out, bringing nothing but dread and worry to the team as they confronted the truths lying in front of them. Axis managed to escape high-security lockdown and his brother might have just drained all the life out of an entire planet. Their mission was getting much harder long before it would ever get easier.

Meanwhile, Axis and Dr. Madman returned to Earth after having snuck into the Kingdom grounds with Axis' cloaking technology. While monitoring the ground level, a knocking could be heard on the side of the small sized ship. Dr. Madman was startled by the sound while Axis opened up the ship's side door to reveal his first lieutenant.

"Lieutenant, anything to report from the ground level?"

The lieutenant looked upon the doctor with a disgusted expression. "No, My General. You didn't tell me he'd be… one of them."

"Not to worry, lieutenant. He too has a score to settle with the people of this planet." Axis crept in closer to whisper. "Also, we may need him to unlock the time warp technology secrets. Our brightest minds back on Triforia are taking quite a bit of time figuring it out. His mind however, is a rarer breed."

Madman poked his head outside for a quick second and then quickly tried to fan himself off with his hands. "Well, Earth is definitely hotter than I remember. I guess that whole global warming thing they could not stop talking about all those centuries ago finally kicked in."

"Sure…" Axis replied. "Now, how shall we proceed, Doctor?"

"Well, let's see here… uuuhhhh… OH!" Madman unveiled a tiny device in his hands. "That's right, I'm supposed to turn this thing on… riiiight now!" The device started blinking red.

"Oh… okay, I see. This must be some sort of remote that triggers an explosive device, yes?"

"This thing right here? Haha, no no, nothing like that!"

Axis' expression turned into a suspicious glare. "Very well… So what kind of destruction does it create? Can it at least take down a standing structure? Those are always nice."

The lieutenant nodded in approval.

"No, not quite… But it can take down you."

In mere moments, Axis' cloaking technology was deactivated and his ship was completely surrounded by Time Force officers and local law enforcement.

"What… what is this…?" Axis started back at Madman with a heat-filled glance. "YOU! You deceived me?! You're working for them!?"

Madman broke out into laughter. "Haha! Nothing personal there, buddy. They just pay a bit better."

"You did not ask for compensation!" cried Axis.

A few blaster totting Time Force officers forced the Triforians out of the ship before Queen Diane entered the scene. She pointed to Madman and the officers released him while keeping their blasters focused on the Triforians.

"Excellent work Doctor," Diane stated. "The kingdom is grateful for your service here today."

Diane walked towards the apprehended General Axis. "And as for you, we took you a little too lightly before. You and your colorful band of freaks."

Axis snickered a bit. "Not sure you can come down on me for using any measure of colorful freaks, My Queen."

"Be that as it may, security on you will now triple. And with the rest of your forces either captured, dead, or having long since abandoned you to scurry back home, I predict your chances of getting free again at a comforting zero percent."

"HA, you won't live long enough to regret your actions once Admiral Axl is at your doorstep—"

"Enough!" Diane's expression intensified. "Neither your brother, nor anybody else is coming to save you this time! Men, get this filth out of my sight."

Axis was left questioning the words and peculiar reactions of Diane while being dragged back to Time Force under considerably sturdier conditions. Time Force had been reprimanded quite thoroughly over Axis' successful escape. Captain Logan put his job on the line to grant Diane the assurance that it wouldn't happen again.

Queen Diane was then escorted back to her kingdom via personal shuttle; a shuttle she invited Dr. Madman to accompany her on. It was sleek and slender vehicle made with only the finest of designer parts. It was the only ship in Diane's collection that had a bit more flare to it. As they traveled, Diane wanted to speak with Madman personally and led him to an office space within the ship.

"Wow, this is literally the first time I'm seeing you without guards around, haha."

An unamused Diane sat down at her desk and got straight to business, "We both know why we're here, Doctor. And we both know that the information that we have to discuss is of a delicate nature."

Madman nodded his head in agreement and motioned her to continue.

"You have done great work in the shadows to help preserve this kingdom. You've helped make it so that Earth could enjoy an era of unparalleled peace before the Resistance showed up."

"I haven't often questioned your orders, My Queen. But why have Axis captured again?"

"This was not part of my original plan. Time Force has proven surprisingly incompetent as of late. But his escape was of no consequence. I knew Axis would come to you for answers, so his freedom was never a given. Admiral Axl is a considerable threat, but even he won't come out of hiding after seeing what we were able to accomplish here. As we both know, Zordina was one of several major systems that tried to absolve themselves of the kingdom. A shame they couldn't see reason quickly enough. This was a good test, and soon, what remains of the Resistance and any outliers will once again bow down to me, the only rightful Queen of the Universe."

Madman chuckled. "Not satisfied with a checkmate. You want the whole damn board. Hehe, that is truly insane, My Queen. And I do mean that as a compliment, just look at who you're talking to. Nothing like some good old fashioned deception to keep your enemies afraid and scrambling for answers, hehehe."

"Hmm, precisely. I knew that I wouldn't be able to depend on Professor Knox to finish working on our new weapon. He's a loyal and trustworthy man, but he's far too kind hearted to do what must be done. An issue that has never once surfaced with you, Doctor. And now, with it in hand and perfectly functional, there will be no more opposition to my rule."

"Not to be _that_ guy, but what of the Power Rangers?" asked Madman. "What with their 'do the right thing' mantra, I don't think they'd enjoy our… partnership."

Diane rose from her chair to look at a picture of Jason and herself alongside an older man that shared Jason's skin tone and wore a large smile. She remembered the day and time down to the second. "With our new weapon able to fulfill the aspirations of the kingdom, there doesn't seem to be as large a need for the Rangers as I originally thought. Carter convinced me of a war, a war that we would lose and trusting him, I built a Ranger Academy and had the best minds I knew harness the power of the Morphing Grid. But now that this kingdom is protected against any threats for the foreseeable future, the Rangers are yesterday's heroes."

"Well, my lips are, of course, sealed, My Queen!" replied Madman with a smile.

"Hmm, of course they are…" Diane pushed a button that quickly strapped down Madman's arms and legs, confining him to his chair.

"Hey, wait! What's the meaning of all this?!"

"Cutting loose ends, Doctor. I'm sure you understand. Now that I have full working knowledge of your marvelous weapon, any trained amphibian could do your job and do it for free. And I can't take the chance of you being carelessly captured or bribed into ruining everything I've worked so hard to build."

A pair of Diane's royal guards entered the room.

"Men, this man has revealed to me that he was the one responsible for the Zordina attack. Arrest him at once!"

The men quickly restrained Dr. Madman and dragged him away. Madman did not struggle or cry. He only laughed at how he probably should have seen this coming.

"Place him in a cell next to Axis and restrain both of their mouths. There will be no trial, so keep these arrests off the public records."

Madman was taken away as Diane exhaustedly fell back into her seat. _He is right, however. Those Power Rangers could pose a threat in the unlikely instance that my work is discovered. I can't risk Jason getting caught up in such a mess. But how to approach this?_ Diane turned her gaze again to that picture, losing herself for just a second in that distant memory before she pulled her focus back to the now.

Meanwhile, back on the Astro4, the Rangers were in the midst of their return trip back to Earth after discovering a void and depleted wasteland where Zordina once stood. Try as they might, the team was still unable to find any information about what could have happened, and even less information on the primary suspect himself.

"I still can't find a thing about Admiral Axl." Ethan fell deeper into his seat as his frustration rose. "This guy is way better at staying hidden than I can hope to be at finding him."

"This doesn't make sense to me," Taylor replied. "Axis was confident about using Axl to threaten us, but not even a single news report about him? Even without access to Triforia's data, it just doesn't add up."

Just then, a new transmission hit the screen. Carter rushed to the control panel to play the message. It was Queen Diane delivering another pre-recorded transmission.

"Rangers, we have found General Axis and his accomplice, Doctor Rizan Isaacs, as well as his top lieutenant and two rather insignificant Triforians. All five have been successfully captured."

The team shared a deep sense of relief. At the very least, there would not be two Triforian juggernauts to take down all at once.

"But that's not all," started Diane again as the Rangers returned focus to the transmission. Her expression became more chilling before she spoke her next words, "We have been lied to. Our sources originally told us that Admiral Axl was responsible for what had happened to Zordina. But, it was actually the recently captured Doctor Isaacs: a disgraced scientist who once worked for the kingdom many years ago. He even took to calling himself Doctor Madman, fittingly enough. And it also seems that your fears have been realized, Rangers. The weapon that claimed Zordina is the same one Axis stole the designs for on the Moonbase. Axis transferred the designs to Doctor Isaacs and he unleashed its power upon Zordina."

Jason clenched his fists. "That asshole! Even locked up he's causing us trouble."

Diane's transmission continued, "We believe we have located the weapon, as well as all pertinent information regarding it. Rangers, your new mission is to reach these new coordinates, find the weapon, and destroy it, along with any traces of information that could potentially lead to its reproduction. I learned an important lesson on the Moonbase about trusting you Rangers. I made a mistake years ago when I approved the development of that weapon and we must get rid of it before any more systems pay the ultimate price. One last thing: I know how much you all miss your real homes, and your service has my undying gratitude. Carter, this will be your final mission as leader of Chronic Storm. May it be one you will remember fondly."

The transmission ended.

"Looks like you were almost spot on Ethan," Jason said. "You knew that Axis had transferred the designs to another place so that the weapon could be finished."

Ethan let off a confident smirk. "Heh, nothing to it. But so much for Admiral Axl being the primary suspect. Thankfully, that crazy Doctor dude is behind bars."

"Yeah," added Kendrix. "So all we have to do now is find the weapon designs and destroy them."

"And then, mission complete." Jason said.

"Good thing we know what we're looking for too," Ethan added. "I can create a program that should be able to give us a good idea of where that weapon is being hidden; just like tracking down Axis' ship."

"Sounds good," replied Carter. "It shouldn't take us more than a few hours to get to the given coordinates from where we are now. Our best bet is to land somewhere uninhabited on the planet close to where Ethan pings out the weapon. If we're seen performing this mission, we could stir up trouble with the locals and we don't know who or what we might find on that planet."

Ethan immediately put together a program based on the weapon data stored on the ship. As expected, it was leading them right towards the coordinates that Diane provided. "Program in place. It should alert us when the signature it's tracking becomes large enough to—"

But he was interrupted by his program alerting him to something.

Ethan turned to the screen in alarm. "Oookay… Either my program is working beyond optimal levels, or we're dealing with something really, really big here."

"It's a planet leveling weapon," Taylor replied. "What did you expect?"

Ethan was about to come up with some kind of sarcastic retort, but Kendrix stopped him.

All the while, Carter was thinking back towards all the countless missions, the countless memories he's made in the future. "...My last mission… it's hard to believe." Carter turned to face his team. "We've already had what feels like a lifetime of experiences together. But I want all of you to know that the memories we've created, I will always carry them with me."

"There will never be a Ranger, or a leader, like you Carter," Jason replied. "And I think I speak for the rest of us when I say we'll never forget you either."

The rest of the team nodded in agreement while also collectively realizing that their journey together was nearly at its end. All of them missed home, a little less so on Jason's end, but none of them would ever regret their initial decision to say yes to this mission.

Taylor half smiled at Ethan. "Once we're done, I'll finally have some peace and quiet."

Ethan laughed. "Admit, you're gonna miss us."

Taylor rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I for one am gonna miss this awesome spaceship," Ethan said. "Like, seriously, we need one of these babies back home."

Kendrix giggled. "You haven't seen cool ships until you've lived on Terra Venture."

Jason was getting a bit excited now. "Ethan, you have no idea. Your old school sci-fi movies don't even come close to the space base Kendrix calls home."

"Hey hey, don't knock Blade Runner."

Jason looked confused. "Blade what…?"

Ethan's jaw fell open as he pointed at Jason. "That is a sin right there. No way we're leaving until that's fixed."

"Heh, oh yeah? Bet you've never seen the Star Chronicles trilogy… since it doesn't exist yet for you."

"Star Chronicles…? That sounds like a Star Trek knockoff."

"It is!"

"I'm in!"

Taylor deeply sighed at the child-like wonderment those two were embracing. But behind that front, she was going to miss all of this, and all of them. Back home, she got to see her old Wild Force teammates every now and again, but it was never really the same. In returning to the Air Force, her passion for flying and rigid structure also wasn't the same, but it was the only other thing she really knew. She would never outright admit it, but part of her enjoyed the rowdiness, welcomed the immaturity that sometimes surrounded her in both her Ranger roles. Part of her almost needed it.

"We'll have some proper sendoffs later," stated Carter. "But right now, it's time to finish what we started and complete our mission, one last time. We're almost there, it's time to focus up."

The Rangers nodded and readied themselves for the road directly ahead while Ethan's program acted as a countdown for when this last mission would truly start.


	3. Weapon

**Chapter 12: Weapon**

Back inside the Kingdom was a busy and bustling Time Force Headquarters. After their prized prisoner successfully broke free, Time Force implemented much stricter guard policies alongside longer guard shifts for on duty officers. They could ill-afford another slip up, lest their services be deemed unnecessary by the Queen. Alex however was conflicted thinking through the methods Time Force was being pushed into abiding by. He found Captain Logan in his office to voice his concerns.

"Captain Logan, sir." Alex stood at ease. "Permission to speak frankly."

Captain Logan didn't take his eyes of his computer that he was furiously typing on. "Make it quick."

"I don't understand, sir. Why are five prisoners under Time Force lock and key not undergoing due process? Why hasn't there been a trial scheduled?"

Logan sighed, stopped typing, and looked up from his work. "Their guilt had already been determined prior to their arrest. And I for one would not be fond of the busy work that follows processing their crimes."

"Sir, with respect, this is not how Time Force operates. We cannot ignore our rules and regulations just because the crimes are beyond reprehensible. How would that make us look as an organization trusted by the people to preserve peace?"

Logan stood up and walked towards his door. He peered outside, to the left, then to the right, to check for any hallways dwellers before closing his door. Then, he turned to Alex with a concerned expression. "Remember a few days back? All that yelling coming from out of this office?"

"Yes, sir. Disciplining a new recruit?"

"Here's the short of it: We already got in hot water once for losing the Queen's valuable war prisoner. And trust me son, that is not the lake to be swimming in. Is that understood?"

Alex hesitated for a moment before nodding his head in understanding.

"Good, now make sure you sign up for a guard shift. We'll all need to pitch in to keep our new guests properly entertained. Dismissed." Logan returned to his chair and to his work.

As Alex walked out of Logan's office, he had a lot more questions than answers. He struggled to let go of the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was off about the whole situation. Queen Diane had never gotten overly involved with Time Force matters in the past, but things were different now. His mind raced thinking of what to do.

Meanwhile, back in the depths of space, the Rangers were en route to the coordinates provided to them by Queen Diane. The stretch of the universe they were now traversing was relatively unknown to most and possessed a very low number of inhabited systems. As the Rangers moved closer to their destination, the space around them started to feel more and more like a void of witch fewer and fewer planets and stars could be seen. Suddenly, a small planet appeared on the monitors in conjunction with program readings. There could be no doubt. The Rangers had finally located where Madman was operating from.

"Guys, we're finally here," Carter said. "Activate the cloaking technology now."

Ethan complied and pressed a button on the console. The Astro4 then became invisible as it approached the surface of the mysterious silver planet, no bigger than most moons.

Ethan then pushed another button on the console to run an initial scan of the surface. "I'm not getting many life signs. But the program has been blowing up these last few minutes. We're in the right place."

"Then let's get a move on, ready?" asked Carter.

"Ready!" The team replied in unison.

"Chronic Storm, Ranger form!" they all cried as they morphed up.

The Astro4 gently landed on the planet's surface and the team disembarked. Upon initial inspection, the landscape was just as barren as Zordina, but without the thick clouds of rust and the desert-like atmosphere. However, this shimmering, dark-silver planet had the looks of a place that had never been inhabited.

"It's so empty here," Jason said while turning his head to observe his surroundings. "Are we sure that weapon didn't hit this place too?"

Kendrix used her morpher to scan the planetary surface again. The planet itself wasn't especially large, so a single scan could tell the whole story. "I'm getting some life readings too, but nothing near us. We should be safe."

Just then, from behind a plateau appeared to be some type of abandoned factory.

Taylor noticed it first and pointed it out. "There. That has to be Madman's lab."

The device Ethan was using to get a fix on the energy signature of the super weapon was going slightly more berserk as he turned it towards the factory that Taylor had found.

"No question about it. Let's move." said Carter.

The team raced towards the factory and punched down the front door. As they entered the dimly lit insides, they laid witness to a plethora of broken down machines, computer screens, some lit up, other black or cracked, and an entire labyrinth of random chemicals in beakers and flasks. There was even a strange creature in a liquid filled tube that looked eerily human, except with silver skin.

"Yep," Ethan said. "Plenty of evil mad genius stuff lying around here."

"But no weapon yet." replied Carter.

"Maybe the readings are coming from underground," postulated Kendrix. "If I were Madman, I wouldn't just lay something that powerful out in the open."

"I think you're onto something." Ethan replied while walking up and down the halls with his weapon scanning device. "The readings start off weaker, then get stronger, and then become weaker again going from either side of the lab."

"The center then." Taylor knelt down and felt out the floor of the lab. "Let's start digging."

Suddenly, the Rangers heard the sound of smashing glass somewhere near them.

Jason nearly jumped out of his suit. "Geez! Alright, who dropped something? Nearly gave me a heart attack."

Then, the same sound was audible from the other side of the lab.

"It isn't any of us." Carter said.

"Guys," replied Ethan as his head darted back and forth. "I don't think we're alone in here."

The Rangers huddled together, forming a outward facing circular perimeter with their Chronic Blasters loaded, awaiting what may come. Just as soon, another, closer sound.

"Stay sharp guys, keep your cool." said Carter.

The Rangers looked vigilantly from every angle as the sounds stopped completely. All they could hear for a few tense moments was the sound of their own breath, a sound only amplified by the helmets affixed to their heads. And then, from out of the darkness, something jumped out at Taylor.

"Taylor!" cried Ethan as he blasted the mysterious creature out of the sky and sent it to the ground.

"I could have handled that." said Taylor.

"And you're welcome."

The team then began to inspect the creature. But it was no creature. It was a machine of some sort that had a bat-like appearance now sparking and flaming from the shot Ethan landed on it.

"Makes sense that a guy like Madman might have a few mechanical pets lying about." said Jason.

"If anymore come our way, we know how to handle them," added Carter. "But we should start digging before that happens."

"No need guys, look," Kendrix knelt down and found a loose panel on the floor and lifted up the hatch. "This passageway has to lead to the weapon."

"Nice find!" replied Jason.

The Rangers then entered the secret passageway one by one, all five finding themselves inside the dark unknown of Madman's underground lair.

Back at Time Force HQ, it was Alex's turn to help with the guarding of the priority prisoners. He had only been on shift for a few minutes at this point, but he simply could not ignore the uneasy feeling inside. He could not ignore the irritability. He needed answers, and he needed them now. He turned around to gaze upon Doctor Madman and General Axis inside their cell blocks. He felt immediate rage thinking back towards their committed atrocities, but his anger could not put his trepidation to rest.

A fellow officer was on guard duty alongside Alex looking decidedly less wound up while he rubbed his growling stomach. "Hey Alex, I was going to grab a snack from around the hall. You want anything?"

Alex looked back at him with a stoney expression. "You cannot expect me to leave my post with these high priority criminals in tow."

The officer threw his hands in the air. "Suit yourself man, but I don't think they're going anywhere."

"We thought that last time too." replied Alex as the other officer turned to hall to acquire a snack.

Alex couldn't help but stare back into the cells of Axis and Madman, wondering what possible motivations they could have had, what upbringing or series of events could have possibly brought them to this point. He often wondered about these things with all the criminals who end up locked up here, but his curiosity and frustration was only amplified now. He couldn't fight the feeling any longer. He quickly opened and entered Madman's cell and undid his mouth restraint.

"Why?! All those people, all those Zordinian lives, stolen by you! What kind of sick, twisted purpose could you have possibly had?!"

Madman chuckled at his anger. "Man oh man, you are easy to rile up, huh? Probably one of those 'honorable' men too. Straight as an arrow and sharp as a… a… well, very sharp in any case. But, if you really want to know why, I suggest you go a little beyond protocol, young man, hehehe. After all, that's how things are done around here, right? When a rule doesn't work, you change it! Hahaha, or ignore it."

Alex looked at him with a confused glance before shaking it off to regain his focus. "You are a murderer. Protocol or not… people like you don't deserve trial." Alex tried to buy into the words, but his struggled to push them through his mouth was evident.

"Yeah, yeah, sure… but still, that doesn't change the fact that I didn't get one, does it?"

"...What are you saying?"

"Interested? You should be! It wouldn't be very fun to just tell you how far removed your idea of 'justice' is from the real thing. But I'll give you this much: as crazed as I am, I'm no killer… well… not really anyways… In any case, what happened on Zordina, far too premeditated for me, but oh I went along with it, what with enemies here and enemies there. Best to show them your power, then nobody will stand in your way! Now is that interesting tale or what? Well, I could have still written a better one, given the chance. One day, one day."

Madman started to laugh aloud before Alex restrained his mouth again and sealed his door, just as his fellow officer came back from acquiring two snacks.

"Wouldn't you know it, the machine stole my credits. Gave it a few good knocks though and got even more than I paid for."

Alex remained stunned as his mind remained fixated on the words of Madman. His explanations were difficult to make sense of, but it was clear that there was more to this situation than meets the eye. There's something he's not saying. Which means there's something Time Force doesn't know.

"I'll be right back." said Alex as he raced towards his ship, leaving behind a confused co-worker.

A short trip brought Alex to the foot of Queen Diane's palace. As soon as he exited his vessel, a quartet of guards surrounded him.

"State your business here. Speak clearly!"

Alex slowed his dissent towards the floor and lifted his hands up. "I must speak to the Queen. I have important questions that only she can answer."

"Out of the question! The Queen is not accepting visitors at this time."

Just then, Queen Diane herself approached the scene. "Now now, surely we can make an exception for one of Time Force's finest. And the man who helped save my life."

The lead guard turned around in fear and bowed down to Diane. "M-My Queen. Yes, of course."

Diane motioned to her guards to leave Alex and her be. The quarter all bowed to her and quickly left the scene. Diane then motioned for Alex to walk alongside her.

"Alex, what brings you to my palace this day?"

"My Queen, there are some pressing questions that I need answered. I know that I'm doing exactly what Captain Logan said not to, but I need to know why you will not have the individuals you arrested stand trial."

"It's actually rather simple. These are very dangerous men. One ended an entire race of people just because he felt like it, and the other is fresh off a war that would have brought the Earth to its knees, if not for several teams of Power Rangers."

"I understand that. But our protocols are clear about how to handle accused criminals. Not once has a trial been swept aside under any circumstance."

Diane stopped walking and turned to Alex. "Sometimes the rules need to be adjusted for special situations. Those five are too dangerous to be given a trial. I would argue, too dangerous to even leave breathing."

A thought suddenly occurred to Alex. "Zordina… they weren't allies with Earth, were they? But they used to be. What changed?"

Diane took a deep breath and stared coldly at Alex. "If you have any semblance of care for your current profession, I highly recommend that you choose your next words very carefully and be very mindful of what you may be implying."

"My apologies, My Queen. I meant no disrespect. I will drop the matter."

"See that you do."

Alex bowed to her and returned to his ship.

Diane looked sharply at him as he prepared to take off before walking towards one of her lead guards. "That man is withholding information regarding the destruction of Zordina. He is to be considered a traitor to the kingdom and terminated with extreme prejudice. But do it quietly."

The guard nodded. "It shall be done, My Queen."

Diane left the docking bay as her lead guard took off in a fully cloaked ship just behind her. She then made her way towards the main lab where Prof. Knox and his staff was working on a brand new portal-like device.

"My Queen!" exclaimed Knox. "Great news on that Stargate you requested. Turns out, Kendrix was spot on. We used the basic idea behind the time warp device to construct it. Soon, we'll be able to visit any known planet in the universe in the blink of an eye!"

"Great work, Professor. Have it fully operational by the hour. We need not waste any more time."

Diane then received an incoming transmission. She pushed a button on her wrist and played the message.

"My Queen, the traitor has been successfully shot out of the sky. He will bother us no longer."

"What? Traitor…?" asked a concerned Knox. "Is everything alright, My Queen?"

Diane gently smiled and nodded. "Couldn't be better, my friend. You needn't worry yourself over it. Keep your focus on the Stargate."

All the while, it didn't take long for Time Force HQ to become confused and shaken by the mysterious absence of Alex. Inside central command, Captain Logan and his finest officers were searching through their computer systems to try an unravel any details as to his whereabouts.

"I want every inch of this base checked." ordered Captain Logan.

Just then, an officer located the data on Alex's ship. "Sir, data logs indicate that his ship left HQ a few hours ago, but we have no idea where he could have gone."

Logan nodded. "I want every frequency we have searching for that ship."

Then, a young, brown haired, female cadet speedily walked up towards Logan, saluted him, and stood at ease. "Sir! Please allow me to lead a search and rescue team to retrieve him once his ship is located."

A hit came up on sensors. It was displayed on the large central monitor for all to see. Not too far removed from the palace.

Logan looked to young woman. He could read the passion in her eyes. "Cadet Jen, it's your lucky day. Now go and find Alex and bring him back."

Jen nodded and quickly moved out.

Logan looked back at the screen and was worried by the signal's proximity to the palace. He had a strong intuition that Alex didn't heed his previous warning, and went swimming anyways. _Hopefully he's alright_.

Meanwhile, back on the mysterious dark-silver planet, the Rangers were traversing the inner bowels of the underground pathway they discovered. Visibility was limited, so the Rangers utilized their helmet's infrared mode to move about the halls. It was only a matter of time before they would reach the central core of this base, and with it, the weapon.

"This is one elaborate underground base," said Ethan. "It seems to go on forever."

"Thank goodness for these heads up display helmets," replied Jason. "With all these twists and turns, and the darkness, we'd get lost in minutes down here."

Just then, the ground began to shake throwing the Rangers to the floor.

"Where did this earthquake come from?" asked Taylor.

"Can we even technically call it an earthquake?" asked Ethan.

The shaking soon lessened in intensity but was still very much apparent. Immediately following, the hallways in front of them and behind them began to light up one by one all the way down the multitude of halls.

Carter helped the others back on their feet. "Guys, we need to get to the surface and figure out what's going on. This doesn't feel like a normal quake."

The team quickly traced back their steps and returned to the ground level. As they exited the lab, they noticed what looked like large, silver-colored metal platforms emerging from the ground beneath them.

"Guys, I don't think this is a normal planet either." stated Carter.

The tremors suddenly stopped as what looked to be the front end of a massive spaceship could be seen protruding out of the planet like a metallic mountain.

"What are we looking at?" Taylor asked.

"Now way!" Ethan took in the sight. "This lab is a spaceship?! Sweet!"

"Take it down a peg. We've got a serious problem here."

"Taylor's right," Carter added. "We could be taking an unplanned trip with this planet-ship booting up."

"Someone has to know we're here," Kendrix added. "Maybe that bat from before was a warning."

"Wait, guys! I think I have an idea!" exclaimed Jason.

The team huddled up to listen in to what he had planned.

"Remember when I used that EMP to knock on the engines on Axis' ship? We may be able to do the same thing here if we can get this place's engines. We have to assume whoever built this thing has protections in place. But a strong enough EMP should fry that too. Then, we just need to set enough explosives to wipe the entire station out and leave, destroying the base, and the weapon, all in one boom."

Carter and the others thought about Jason's plan. "It sounds risky, but I trust your judgement. I think this could work."

Ethan took to his morpher and scanned the base again. With it now activated, certain internal details became visible that weren't before. He projected the image in front of the others, but one central area of the base was still not displayed. "Ten bucks says that super convenient blacked out area is where we need to hit."

"We can plant the explosives around the soft spots," said Jason. "Time it all together and the whole station should collapse on itself before it can start up again."

Carter looked to everyone else. "Everyone in agreement?"

"I like it." replied Kendrix.

"Not bad, kid." added Taylor.

Carte nodded. "Then we have our plan. Okay, I know you're gonna hate this Jason, but I want you to stay on the ship."

Jason immediately groaned.

"I know, but trust me, it's an important job. We'll need to get out really quickly when this thing goes critical. Have the Astro4 ready and waiting for us when we give you the signal."

Jason sighed and nodded. "Okay, I got it."

Carter patted him on the back. "You can still fly, right?"

"Heh, yeah, don't worry about that."

Jason then made his way back to the Astro4 while Carter, Kendrix, Taylor, and Ethan rushed back inside the underground halls to dismantle this moon-spacebase hybrid.

As the team traversed the multiple levels of the station towards the center, they finally reached what looked like a gigantic metallic oval-like structure radiating yellow energy from its core and crackling all around inside a large, spacey containment unit. It was almost too obvious a power source.

"I think we've found it," said Carter. "Good thing nobody took that bet."

"Not for me." replied Ethan.

"Anyways, let's get to it. We've got 5 bombs so let's spread them out evenly around the power source. Then, we'll stick the fifth bomb right on top of that thing."

The Rangers all took hold of an explosive device with Carter taking two. These bombs were specially made to ignore electromagnetism, so they could detonate them after the EPM took effect.

"All of the explosives are in place and set." stated Kendrix.

"All but yours." Taylor motioned to Carter's fifth and final bomb.

Ethan looked out towards the somewhat far away central power source defended by a very large drop that didn't seem to end. "Please tell me you were a varsity quarterback back in the day."

"Not quite," Carter replied. "Ethan, activate the EPM."

"Alright…" Ethan set off the EMP, frying the station controls, shutting off the lights, disabling the crackling energy radiation, and jamming communications. "Hold up, how are we gonna signal Jason now?"

"That's what the explosions are for."

"Sure," replied Taylor. "But we still have to hit that power source."

Carter turned a dial on the bomb, creating a small timer underneath a larger, red colored timer. He then tossed the bomb as far as he could throw it towards the power source. Once the small timer ran out, the bomb started drifting downwards before rising back up again and quickly attaching itself to the power source apparatus. "Magnetic bombs. One of Queen Diane's favorite Ranger weapons."

Kendrix used her morpher to network all five bombs together. "Incredible. I can adjust all five timers from my morpher. Syncing explosions now."

"Nice," Ethan replied. "Sounds like a mission complete to me."

"Not until this place is up in flames." Taylor stated.

"She's right," Carter added. "We'll wait for the timer to read—"

But Carter's words were cut off by the beeping of Kendrix' morpher. She was getting a error message coming from all five bombs. The four exchanged looks of confusion and concern while the error message continued to blare.

All the while, Jason was lying in wait inside the Astro4 ready to depart at a moment's notice once his team had relayed the signal. They never discussed what that signal would be, but Jason figured he'd know it when he saw it. However, a bit of time passed, and still no sign of the team. Jason resigned himself to repeatedly tossing his helmet in the air and catching it. A few more minutes passed. His restlessness was only matched by his heightened sense of worry.

 _They should be back by now… I better just take a quick look. No harm in that_. Jason put his helmet back on and stepped out of the Astro4. As he re-entered Madman's lab, he noticed a peculiar illumination out of the corner of his eye. He wandered towards it and beared witness to a strange bluish-white light coming from inside a portal. It looked similar to a time portal, but it was slightly bigger and the vortex wasn't swirling as it usually did. Rather, it stood still, like a lake void of ripples.

Jason was drawn in by the unique sight. His heads up display automatically started scanning it once he got close enough, but there was no available data on this device. "What is something like this doing here? And who turned it on?"

But before he could form another thought, a large, shady figure manifested from inside the portal and started walking towards Jason.

Jason instinctively pulled out his Chronic Blaster and aimed it squarely on the large, masked man in front of him. "What the…? Who are you?"

The figure quickly zapped Jason with a blinding bolt of electricity, sending him falling to the ground and knocking him out. The figure then picked him up and walked back into the portal. Just as soon, the light began to fade and vanish as the portal closed.

Meanwhile, inside the underground station, the rest of the team was working fervently to try and re-arm the explosive devices. So far, their attempted failed to bear fruit. It was as if someone had found a way to sever their control.

"Are you sure we used the right bombs?" asked Taylor.

"They're the only ones we have." replied Carter.

Suddenly, the lights came back on. The Rangers then found themselves surrounded by various machines, all sporting a somewhat chimeric design, combining the aspects of multiple animals into a mechanical frame. More started pouring out of hallways, ceilings, and floor panels, easily numbering fifty by this point. The Rangers quickly huddled together and fanned outward while clenching their fists tightly.

"More evil robots," Ethan commented. "Why not?"

"Several times more." replied Kendrix.

"Nothing we can't handle." added Carter. "The lights are back on and so our morphers. Let's do it!"

"Chronic Storm, Ranger form!" the team cried as they morphed into Ranger mode.

A few flying robots started to swarm the team, but the quartet quickly shot them out of the sky.

"More incoming," Taylor said while darting her head back and forth at the multiplying mechanical masses. "I say it's time to combine weapons."

"I actually agree with Taylor." replied Ethan.

Carter quickly shot down a pair of gorilla-bear hybrid robots. "So here's the thing… they're still in development…"

Ethan rapidly swung his head towards Carter. "Wait, what?"

"It's not easy to make five weapons that can also form a bigger, stronger weapon. We'll have to win with what we've got."

Taylor started looking through her morpher options and stopped upon a setting she she hadn't seen before. "We had this the whole time? Alright, here goes."

Taylor pushed a button and extended her right hand. From out of it, a surge of electricity launched itself upon a wave of robots, tearing their circuits apart.

"Whoa!" Ethan reacted. "I didn't know you could copy Axis' lightning thing."

Taylor stared back at her hand in amazement. "That makes two of us."

Kendrix checked through her own morpher's options and found an interesting ability. "This could be useful."

She pushed a button and sent a pink wave towards a pair of falcon-duck hybrid robots. The robots started to convulse a bit before their eyes turned pink and started digging their metal talons into their fellow chimeric machines.

Ethan excitedly searched through his own morpher. "Alright, where's _my_ super cool secret power?"

Just then, the Rangers and the robots were caught off guard by the sudden movement of the station. From the outside, the station started breaking apart from the planet, leaving it cracked, cratered, and separated like a broken moon. The full silver space station had now broken off from the planet completely and started speeding off into the depths of space. The Rangers were thrown stiffly into the walls as the station accelerated; none of them knowing where they were going, or who was taking them there.


	4. Evil

**Chapter 13: Evil**

A groggy Jason was starting to awaken from his unconscious state, only to find himself restrained to a chair in near darkness. Only a single dim light shone down upon the top of his head. His vision was starting to return. He could slowly begin to make out that same imposing figure in a corner of this unfamiliar room staring directly at him through the cold, unchanging expression of what looked to be a mask with red-colored, branching off lines adorned upon his face. He was built like a warrior, towering well over what would be an average Earth man. He was clad in bulky, black and dark gray armor from head to toe. And with each step he took towards Jason, an eerie clanking sound could be heard from his metallic boots.

Jason was starting to fully come to, enough to question the alarming presence marching closer and closer. "Hey! What's going on here!? Where's my team?!"

"Extinct. As too will you if you refuse to cooperate." There was a familiar accent about his voice.

Jason looked down and noticed an empty spot on his wrist where his morpher usually resided. "What did you do with my team, and my morpher!? Answer me!"

"You will learn your place soon, Green Ranger. But first, you are going to assist me with an important detail. My worthless excuse for a brother went and got himself captured, again, so I'm going to dispose of him before he says anything regrettable."

Suddenly, it hit Jason. His accent was not mere happenstance. His body started to quiver at the thought. "It… you… it can't be… Admiral Axl?"

He chuckled slightly. "To my great benefit, tales of my disappearance have been greatly exaggerated. Unlike my brother, who feeds off attention, our work is done from the shadows."

"Our…? What are you—"

"Back to the matter at hand."

Jason tried to shake free of his restraints, but could not move. His entire body felt drained. He couldn't even call upon his aura in his current state.

"Struggle, scream, cry for all the good it'll do. You only walk free when I allow it… _if_ I allow it."

"You'll never get away with this! Time Force will stop you before you even get close."

"What part of shadows is escaping you? I can simply transport him out of his captivity under the veil of my cloaking technology. What I pilot is far more advanced than what Earth can track. But enough discussion. You too will have a part to play once Axis is secured aboard my ship."

"I'll never help you!"

Axl walked closer to Jason, taking in his fiery expression and unrelenting resolve. He could see it in his eyes. He had seen those same eyes before. "You are so much like your mother was, at a younger age. Brave, defiant, foolish, and so very naive."

"Shut up! You don't know anything about her!"

"Oh?" Axl turned around. "I'd say I know quite a bit about Queen Diane."

Just then, Axl's ship was relaying a proximity alert. They were moments away from Earth's atmosphere and had arrived completely undetected. Axl made his way to the bridge of his ship to activate his teleportation device, but he could not get a clear lock on Axis' position when scanning Time Force HQ. Something was amiss. Or rather, someone was missing.

"Impossible." Axl threw up a visual on screen that showed the remains of a small explosion where Time Force's high priority criminals are kept. Neither Axis nor Dr. Madman were present, just smoldering remains. "Time Force attacked? Who could possibly have the intel to accomplish this? And why aren't there any officers present?"

Many questions, few answers. Axl then walked back to where Jason was being held. "Green Ranger, you must know something about this."

"About what…?"

"Axis is missing."

"Oh… sorry…?"

Axl started charging up his right fist with electrical energy. "Explain now, or suffer the consequences."

Jason however, looked inattentive and aloof to the threats of Axl.

"Perhaps I wasn't clear…"

"Oh, no, you were clear. But even if I knew anything, I still wouldn't tell you. So torture me, mutilate me, kill me, do what you have to and get it over with… Because real heroes don't serve villains!"

Axl stood speechless for a few moments before letting out a few chuckles. "Evil? Heh, and you believe yourself, what? Good? The proverbial white light in the darkness? The universe is the furthest thing from binary, Green Ranger. You have spirit. There's no denying that. But there is still something I can take away from you. And if she goes, so crumbles an entire kingdom."

Jason's eyes widened as his face turned pale and petrified.

"Now, once you've wiped that ridiculous look of shock off your face, you can answer this simple question: what's more valuable, your foolish Ranger pride, or the life of your mother?"

Within the tears Jason tried to fight and the fear he tried to bury inside was a clear reminder, a reminder of the same powerless feeling he had when confronted Axis twice over.

"...Time's up, Green Ranger." Axl started powering up his electrical abilities again. The radiating crackles of lighting made it clear that it was a great deal more powerful than what Axis could conjure up.

"Axl…!"

"What's this? Decided being a 'real hero' was too difficult?"

"...If I help you… You'll swear to leave my mother alone?"

"The Queen is of little consequence to me, has been for a long while. So yes, I can abide by your terms, Green Ranger. Glad to see you using your head for once. Now, you are to examine the surface and come back with a detailed report of what you have found, and I do mean intimate details. No one will suspect a Ranger gathering intel."

Axl pushed a button on Jason's chair, releasing him from his captivity. There was a chance to strike. Axl turned his back to Jason, letting his guard down completely. Jason clenched his fist, but could not move his feet towards Axl. No morpher and no chance at an aura-powered attack. Both of them knew he could pose little threat in his current state. Without another thought on the matter, Jason ventured outside to observe the rubble-filled remains of Time Force lockdown. It was a bleak deal, but Jason also didn't know what could have happened, or how Axis broke free again, if he was even free. And what of Madman? A little knowledge could go a long way in this delicate situation.

As he arrived at the site of the debris, he noticed not a soul was present checking on things. He took a broken down pipe in his hands and carefully observed its charred texture. _By the looks of this pipeline, this attack must have happened pretty recently. These scorch marks are still a bit hot from a probable detonation, and yet, not a single Time Force officer dealing with this. Odd…_

He continued to muddle through the aftermath of the attack. He began observing the broken down cells themselves to search for any further clues. _These definitely look like the cells they use for high-priority prisoners. Chances are, they locked up Madman in here alongside Axis. And assuming nobody moved their bodies, it'd be safe to assume that they're both alive and well. Maybe another faction…? But who out there could so casually launch an attack on Time Force? And so quickly? They had both only been in here for a few days and not even Admiral Axl knows what's going on… unless he's lying about that, but why would he? Damn, too many questions and no definitive answers_.

He then uncovered a burnt piece of metal. _This has the look of something that was shot by a blaster multiple times. There was a definite struggle of some kind. But the real question is, did these blasts come from within, or from outside?_

Jason stepped into part of what remained of the cell block and observed the damaged parts. _This darker side is used for the outer lining, so the blasts did come from outside, likely pointing to a break in and not a break out_.

All the while, Axl carefully observed every step Jason took before he returned to the ship. Jason entered with a puzzled expression, still trying to piece together what really happened.

"Well, what did you learn?" asked Axl.

"Not much. There's nobody around the area. No Time Force officers or even curious civilians. It's eerie."

"Interesting… More than likely an allied faction to my brother assisting in his escape. But who, and where are they now?"

"Yeah yeah, all great questions. I've done your dirty work, so what happens now?"

"Patience, Green Ranger, patience. You still possess some worth to me alive. Best to not rush you to an early grave."

Jason clenched his fists while staring directly at Axl. That intel gathering side quest had another benefit: it allowed him to regain some of his lost strength. He could feel his aura power ready to kick in, if needs be. But without his morpher to complement and enhance that power, his chances were still slim. One unmorphed shot would leave him drained and defenseless if it didn't finish the job.

Axl then started slowly walking towards him. "Unless… you'd rather see yourself finished here and now by doing something truly foolish."

Axl continued to stalk Jason but Jason stood tall and got into his sighting stance.

"Go ahead, take your best shot." goated Axl.

Jason's green aura began to flare up around him. "Are you sure you can handle it?" He wore a strong face, but the power strain was already burning his skin and crunching his bones. He knew he wouldn't last long.

Axl started revving up his electrical powers now out of both his hands. The bolts crackled, sparked, and snapping upon the floor and ceiling. "Somehow, I think I'll manage."

Jason began to charge, but just as soon, the ship tilted heavily to the right, flinging Jason and Axl against a wall.

"Under attack?" asked a surprised Axl. "How did anyone override my cloaking technology?"

He quickly made his way towards the bridge. As Jason ran to follow him, both were stunned at the presence of the Astro4 facing Axl's ship head on. "It can't be…! The Rangers should be dead!"

"Evidently not," a voice from behind them spoke out. General Axis entered the bridge. "Always a pleasure, brother. I'm flattered. I never thought you would actually reveal yourself just for me. Your current oversight is a bit embarrassing however. Perhaps you should have stayed hidden."

"You spineless cowards." Axl replied coldly. "Don't tell me you're working with _them_."

"No, not really. Just looking out for number 1, as they say." Axis quickly fired his best lighting bolt upon Axl only to have it turned aside by an Axl counter surge.

"Was that supposed to be an attack?" Axl gloated.

"Why yes, but not an attack meant for you, brother."

Axl turned around to notice that his ship's controls had been fried in the electrical power struggle. "You imbecile! My ship can't take off now!"

Then, the rest of the Chronic Storm team entered the bridge fully morphed up with blasters charged up and aimed directly at Axl.

"Admiral Axl, you're under arrest." stated Carter.

"Wait, we can arrest people?" Ethan asked.

"You good, kid?" Taylor asked to Jason.

Jason could barely contain his relief. "Guys… you're… you're alive!"

"That one's on us," Kendrix replied. "This time, we were the ones that had _you_ worried."

Jason ran to be alongside his team while Axl facetiously threw his hands in the air. "Hmmm, you have a problem, don't you Rangers? You cannot actually accuse me of any known crimes, thus making your threats empty."

Carter carefully stepped in a little closer with blaster still aimed and ready. "Oh I'm sure we can find a number of chargeable offenses, don't you worry."

"Did I start war with your people? Did I lay waste to Zordina? You can't even prove that I tried to destroy you. But legal technicalities aside, I rather not take the chance." Axl built up a bright blinding electrical surge and hit the floor with it, flinging everyone backwards. When the light faded, Axl was nowhere to be seen.

"Ugh… what…?" Jason said. "No! Dammit! He got away!"

Taylor walked over to Jason and pulled him back to his feet. "We found him once and we can find him again."

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard from down the hall.

"He's back?" Jason quickly turned towards the hallway, ready to fight.

"In a manner of speaking." responded Kendrix.

Alex then entered the bridge alongside Doctor Madman.

"Huh…!?" Jason scratched his head, trying to keep up with this progressive layering of unexplained events. "Okay, you guys are alive, we're working with two evil masterminds, and Time Force was attacked. Can someone please fill me in?"

"Guys, let's head back to the Astro4," said Carter. "We can catch you up on everything while we track down Axl."

The team, now featuring Madman and Axis, sort of, all boarded the Astro4 while hidden Time Force officers appeared on the scene to patch up the broken down containments cells and to search and seize anything and everything that resided in Axl's ship. There wasn't much, as to be expected from a man who rarely leaves a trail. Not even the parts used on the ship itself was distinct enough to draw any leads, let alone conclusions.

Inside the Astro4, Carter gathered everyone into the bridge. "To properly explain everything, I think Alex should take point."

Alex nodded and began, "After I had met with the Queen regarding these criminals, my ship was gunned down by an unknown pilot. I was just barely able to eject with my life in tact. Before that point, I had my suspicions, and after, I knew that only these guys could give me the answers that I needed. Once I returned to Time Force, I told Captain Logan everything. He was a little hesitant at first to go along with it, but he trusted me enough to listen. Then, we had all of HQ evacuated for a 'training exercise' which allowed me to break them out of Time Force without Time Force being accused of freeing criminals."

"Wait, hold on," Jason looked to Axis with an untrusting glare. "Why would you agree to help?"

"Means to an end, Green Ranger. They allowed my first lieutenant and two of my warriors to walk in exchange for my corporation." Axis peered around at the insides of the Astro4 with a repulsed look. "Believe me, I'd rather be anywhere else."

Jason was weary of such a claim, and wearier still of his team having anything to do with him or the man who ended Zordina just a few meters over.

"Anyways," Alex continued. "We wouldn't have seen Axl coming, but we were able to track the Green morpher's energy signature, so all we needed to do was wait. Freeing Madman also allowed us to save the Rangers, since Madman could control his station from virtually anywhere with his neural uplink."

Madman laughed and poked the side of his head. "And they thought I was crazy when I proposed it. HA! I mean, I'm still crazy, but arguably a little less so now!"

"Yeah…" replied Alex. "Anyways, stopping those robots and the space station navigational computer allowed the Rangers to get back on the Astro4 and meet up with us here. They were understandably hesitant to trust these guys, but we smoothed things out and eventually found you."

Jason quickly processed all of these events, but one part stood out. "So what did you mean by suspicions? And what exactly did you need to see my mother about?"

The room grew eerily silent. Jason looked around at several downcast and frustrated expressions. He was more confused now than before.

General Axis looked around at those same expressions in disbelief. "Your feelings clearly keep you from opening your mouths. I have no such dilemma." Axis turned to Jason. "You must hear the truth about your oh so benevolent mother, Green Ranger. She is not who you think. She is manipulative, cold, and is not afraid to commit any act deemed necessary to further her kingdom's power. Zordina was never an ally of the Resistance. They had themselves a strong taste of kingdom living and of their own volition turned on the monarchy in an effort to capture their own independence. With their arsenal, formidable foes for the kingdom, if I could have swayed them. The Queen never took the chance. You can't possibly think their destruction was mere coincidence."

Jason lifted himself from his seat and faced Axis with a burning expression. "And what makes you think I'd believe a single word that you say!? I don't know what you told the others, but I don't trust you and I never will! You're no different than Axl!"

Axis stood up with his own glare to match. "Petulant child. Look closer at the woman you think you know and the truth will find you."

"I've had enough of your damn mouth!" Jason was about to take a swing at Axis before Kendrix grabbed his arm.

"Jason, please. I think we've had enough frustration for one afternoon."

Jason looked surprised at her and the rest of the team. "How can you just let him say these things about her? After all we've been through because of him. After all we've had to endure!"

Madman stepped in while coyly raising his hand. "If I might have a word, or several actually. The point is, Queen Diane hired me to do many things that were deemed… well… radical, by some standards, fiendish by most! Having a scapegoat like me, a disgraced physicist who once worked for 'Her Majesty' and forever banished for his, eeh, let's say, 'original' ideas. It certainly looks nice as a headline, don't you think?"

Jason turned to him angrily.

Madman threw his hands in the air. "I know, I know. 'He ended a race, how could he do something like that?' Blah blah blah, I've heard it about most of my inventions. But hey, it was either Zordina, or the Queen might have fired that thing on me! But, she turned on me all the same… just like she'll turn on on all you… probably."

"I'm sorry that you have to hear this from them," Alex added. "But when I went poking around asking questions about how these guys weren't given any trial or due process, I got shot down for it."

Jason couldn't believe what he was hearing. A toxic mix of anger, frustration, and genuine fear infected his heart as not even he could fight off some of the sense that was being made of the situation. "I… can't believe this… I won't… We can go there, to the kingdom now! Yeah… don't you see? I can talk to her myself then you'll all see that this is just some crazy misunderstanding. There's got to be an explanation for everything."

"There is," Axis replied. "I believe you just heard it."

"Shut. up."

"Wait," Carter added while thinking through Jason's words. "That could actually work. All we have are theories right now. We need more information. But no matter what the Queen might be up to, she'd never try anything against Jason."

Taylor shook her head, unconvinced of his assessment. "She seemed pretty unbroken about the thought of losing him before. And if she suspects that we're the ones looking for answers now… No. I'm not risking the kid on a chance."

"We'd be risking it either way," Ethan added. "If we're all good, then great. But if we're not, there's no way she doesn't find us anyways. She does run the universe."

Alex nodded. "I'm afraid he's right. The Queen has connections everywhere. Powerful ones. If we all have targets on our heads now, it's only a matter of time before someone takes the shot."

Kendrix looked to Jason and squeezed tightly on his hand. "I think it should be your call, Jason."

Jason took a deep breath and thought through how to approach this. He had to shake off the nerves. There was no way. It couldn't be. It was all just a misunderstanding. The woman he knew could never…

Meanwhile, at the Queen's palace, Diane was in her personal chambers observing the kingdom skyline. Her work was getting more taxing by the day, and now she had to deal with yet another Time Force screw up. But before she could handle that, Professor Know came bursting into her room.

"My Queen! My apologies for the intrusion. But I'm afraid I have terrible news! The Stargate we had recently finished working on was stolen!"

Diane turned around in shock. "What…? Who could have done this!?"

"We're not sure, My Queen…"

"We shall have Chronic Storm on the matter at once. Prepare a mission brief and meet me at the lab."

"At once, My Queen."

Knox started walking out of Diane's room while Jason approached the door.

"Jason, you've finally returned! Good, good!"

"Thanks, Professor. I just need to talk to my mother."

"Oh boy. Good luck with that. She's not in the best mood currently."

"She never is, but it can't wait."

Jason entered her room.

Diane turned around to take a good look at him and gently smiled. She could feel a different presence about him. He was somewhat removed from the little boy she had known almost all his life. Even in the midst of constant headaches, she could take this moment to feel relieved.

"Mother… it feels like it's been awhile."

"My son, so it has. You seem to have done a bit of growing up since I last saw you but a few days ago. It's nice to see."

"Hehe, really? I don't feel much older."

"Whatever brings you here today will need to be quick. I have no shortage of people to meet, meetings to attend, and metaphorical fires to put out."

"Yeah, I figured… There's… no easy way to say this, but… I've been hearing things, and I've come to put these nasty rumors to bed."

Diane's eyes widened just a hair as she walked closer to Jason. "Rumors you say? Well then, what have you heard?"

"Uh… W-Well… I know that the Zordinians definitely weren't friends of ours… anymore. It's been said that… that you hired Doctor Madman to wipe them out."

Diane scoffed at the idea. "Am I correct in assuming you received these rumors from the convicted Doctor himself? Someone who, by their very circumstance, would say anything to avoid conviction?"

"I never believed these rumors for a second…! But, well, technically, he wasn't convicted… How could he be? He never stood trial."

"Scum like him are not deserving of the merits of our legal system. I expedited the process to save everyone involved a great deal of hassle."

"Will you do the same with Admiral Axl once you get a hold of him?"

Diane took a minute to compose herself upon hearing the name again. "Admiral Axl… hmph. He is nothing more than a myth these days. You need not concern yourself with any of that. We were foolish to assume he'd come out of hiding, even for his own flesh and blood."

"That might have been comforting, if not for the fact that Axl imprisoned me on his ship and almost killed my team. And now we have to track him down before more people are harmed because of him."

Diane was starting to get unnerved. "I will not hear another word of this."

"But mother, I'm telling you that Axl is back!"

Diane grabbed Jason's shoulders. "Axl is never coming back! Do I make myself clear!?" Diane released his shoulder and turned away. "...He can't…"

Jason wore a look of heightened concern. "Mother…? What's happening?"

Diane composed herself again. "Hmm, curious. You didn't come here alone, did you? Yet, you are the only one here to see me concerning these matters?" Diane back walked towards the window and carefully observed the area. "I do hope for their sake that this has nothing to do with those escaped criminals. Time Force is proving less reliable by the hour."

"Escaped criminals? From Time Force…? This is the first I'm hearing about it… The team and I only recently got back. We'll check it out immediately."

"See that you do. Report all of your findings so we can go about re-capturing those fugitives for the last time."

"The last time…?"

"It need not concern you, my son. Carry on."

"Right… sorry, mother." Jason walked out of the room and gently closed the door behind him.

As soon as he left the room, Diane fell to her knees in front of her window and started tearing up while gazing at the midday sky. _I'm sorry, my love, I'm sorry… I promise you… I won't lose him too_. Diane picked herself up and wiped away her tears. She took a deep breath and before heading out of her personal chambers to continue her work.

After Jason left her room, he walked past the lab and noticed a fair bit of messiness inside. Computer were trashed, robots and prototypes were burnt, and something seemed to be missing from the center of it all.

"Professor, what happened here?" asked Jason.

"Oh, I wish we knew. The Stargate device the Queen had insisted I complete has been stolen. We can't make heads or tails of how it happened.

It quickly hit Jason. The standing vortex. It had to be. "Axl has the Stargate…!"

"Axl…? Admiral Axl!?" Knox shook his head in disbelief, his eyes teeming with fear. "No… anyone but him."

"I'm afraid so. Which means he could be anywhere he wants right now… And Professor… my mother and Axl, they share a history, don't they?"

"That would be putting it mildly. Years ago, before Diane even ruled Earth, Axl showed up and declared war upon us. We never knew the reason. But he is Triforian, they rarely need one. Diane and Axl faced each other several times, but she never spoke of the details."

"I see… Keep an eye on her, if you could. If Axl could spook someone as strong as mother… Anyways, I'm off." Jason ran off the join the others.

Once he got back to the Astro4, he explained everything that happened, including the new device Axl now has his hands on.

"Whoa," Ethan reacted. "So Stargates are real now?"

"So with this Stargate, Axl could be anywhere?" Taylor asked. "Anywhere in the universe?"

"Yeah," Jason replied. "And we'll only be able to track him so far with the Astro4. We don't have the time to search every inhabited system. He was the perfect ghost before, but now…"

"Uhhhh, hello everyone," Madman raised his hand. "We might have a bit of a problem on our hands… Juuuust a tiny one."

"What is it?" asked Carter.

"You know how I can control my space station from basically anywhere with my neat little neural setup?"

Everyone nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

"Well, the thing is… I can't do that anymore…?"

Jason's eyes widened. "Does that mean that the weapon on board of that station could—"

"Yes! Exactly! Good pick up, Greenie. Whoever severed my connection must have done so from inside my station, meaning it and the weapon are under his control… or, you know, her… don't want to discriminate possible evil doers here."

"Ethan," Carter turned to him. "Can we track down that station? Figure out where it's headed?"

"That would be the easy part. We still have the program from last time. The complicated part would be attempting to stop it without being able to control it."

Just then, the Rangers received a transmission that was forcing its way onto the Astro4's interface. A series of images flashed by on the screen followed by a strange four-sided symbol with six lines pointing out from the bottom. The team could barely see any of the images before the red-riddled mask of Axl appeared on screen.

"Greetings to all manner of universal inhabitants, and welcome to the reformation of the universe. It's time to finally come out of the shadows and take my place as ruler. The era of Queens is at an end. The now demands me, Admiral Axl. Those in opposition will not be reasoned with, as diplomacy is an ideal of the past. I will now select planets at random and leave them lifeless. Those who survive this culling will either align with me, or join the culled."

The transmission cut out.

Ethan finally had control of the Astro4's systems again. "It's not just us seeing this. That transmission was sent to every known system in our database."

Axis stared in disbelief at the screen. "My brother has never been the theatrical sort. What exactly did they do to him?"

"Who's they?" asked Madman.

"...I wish I knew."

Jason then walked up to Axis. "When we face him, where will your loyalties be?"

Axis gave off a slight smirk. "I suppose it'll be a surprise for all involved."

Taylor was working next to Ethan looking to track down the signal of Axl's transmission. After a few moments, they realized that the signal and the weapon's signal possessed matching coordinates. And both were on the move.

"Uh, guys, we got a moving super weapon." said Ethan.

"Where's it headed?" asked Carter.

Taylor turned to Axis. "He's on a direct course for Triforia."

"Impossible. My brother may be a bit deranged these days, but he would never attack our people."

"This doesn't seem random…" Ethan added.

"Guys, eyes up, front and center," stated Carter as everyone looked to him. "We may all have had our differences in the past, but right now, we need to put that all behind us to get this done. Brother, enemy, Queen, it doesn't matter to Axl. We're dealing with a man that will kill all of us if he gets half a chance. I'm not giving him that chance. So like it or not, all eight of us are a team now and when its over, we can go back to knocking each other senseless. But until then, we have a universe to save."

Jason looked to Axis. "For the sake of this mission… I'll agree to work with you… But that doesn't mean I trust you."

A still stunned Axis regained his trademark focus. "The man my parents favored all their lives in all likelihood plans to exterminate the people I fought to earn the respect of for years… You can just imagine what that might feel like for a man in my position. That much you can trust."

"Just one big happy… freaky family!" added Madman.


	5. Empire

**Chapter 14: Empire**

Triforia had been in a state of emergency since learning of the original arrest of General Axis. It was only after Axis' first lieutenant returned home and delivered a message from the General himself that the panic started to subside. Unfortunately, this semblance of tranquility was short lived. The warrior nation soon learned though their tracking systems that Admiral Axl and his sizable space station was heading directly for them; the first in line to be culled. The space station started to hover just above the Triforian atmosphere. A station so massive that hordes of people in the capital city could turn their gaze skywards and watch in amazement and fear as its shadow loomed over a nearby mountain range.

Panic ensued as Triforians the planet over received confirmation that Triforia was the first planet on Axl's chopping block. It cut them deeply, the realization that their downfall would come at the hands of the man who helped pull them up as a planetary super power. A handful tried to run, more tried to escape. Perhaps they'd succeed. But there was no time to evacuate everyone.

But just then, a video transmission came in and was feed all throughout Triforia to every available screen. The commotion froze in place as the people bore witness to their General.

"People of Triforia, lend me your ears!" started Axis. "I know… I know all too well the fear that constricts you. Because just as Admiral Axl plans to oppress this planet, so too did he oppress me nearly all my youth… One of our own, turning on us in his quest for a universe of power. This is not who we are. This is not what we do. So I call upon you now, my brothers and sisters. Do not run. Do not cower. Do not sit idly by while Axl turns our race into planetary target practice! Rise. Rise and fight. Defend your planet, your people, your culture, till your very last breath. Or your next breath may truly be your last."

The Triforians slowly began hooting, hollering, and cheering. The panic began to give way to a new sense of hope. Their true leader had returned.

"I'll fight till my last breath, My General!" cried a civilian.

"For Triforia!" cried another.

One civilian hopped up to the top of a transport. "What are we waiting for? Let's blast that thing out of the sky!"

The Triforians gathered everything from missiles and blasters to sticks and pebbles and rallied to help fight this threat. Even those who could barely walk pushed themselves forward to rally alongside their fellow man. Laying down to die was not the Triforian way.

Meanwhile, the Astro4 was carefully navigating towards Madman's space station. Taylor pulled up video footage of the Triforian surface which revealed to everyone that Axis' grand speech had effectively riled up his people.

Axis gently smiled at the sight. "They never cease to amaze me. If our best guns can get in range, then we can at least slow it down. But we'll need to get inside to stop Axl."

"Alright," Carter replied before looking to the others. "We'll be splitting into two teams: one to stop Axl, and another to stop that weapon from ever firing. Madman, Ethan, Kendrix, get to that weapon and destroy it. The rest of us will confront Axl."

"I like the sound of that plan." added Jason.

Carter then looked to Alex. "Think you can keep the Astro4 ready for us? I'd hate to ask Jason to do it again."

Alex nodded. "I'll be ready."

The gigantic space station was an imposing sight, but thankfully, it lacked much in the way of shield generators or protective weaponry beyond it's massive gun at the very bottom. Madman figured that nobody would be crazy enough to attack this thing head on. Soon enough, the Astro4 found an opening so that Madman and the team of weapon busters could begin their part of the operation.

"We're getting close to the drop point for our resident weapon destroyers," Carter said. "Get to the top and suit up."

Madman, Ethan, and Kendrix began to depart.

"Wait, Kendrix!" Jason quickly caught up to her. But his nerves got the better of him, costing him his train of thought. "I just… I wanted to say…"

Kendrix smiled while shaking her head before gently kissing Jason on the cheek. "We're going to make it through this. And when we do, tell me all about it."

"Yeah… I will. Promise."

Kendrix then followed Madman and Ethan to the top of the Astro4 while Jason re-joined the others, no longer afraid of what was to come. All his mind could dwell on was the after. That singular thought is all he needed to push him forward on this day.

Soon, the Astro4 made its way to a higher level of the station. It was the best reading they could get when when they tracked down where Axl was recording from.

"Looks like we're up." said Taylor.

"Ready guys?" asked Carter.

"Ready!" both Jason and Taylor responded.

Axis rolled his eyes in anticipation of what was coming. "Ugh, anything but that battle cry…"

"Chronic Storm, Ranger form!" the team cried as they morphed up into Ranger mode.

All the while, Madman, Ethan, and Kendrix were scouring through the space station to track down weapon controls. Madman was leading the charge, but looked a bit lost when he reached a three way hallway. "Okay, uuuhhhhh… next right over here." Madman lead the pair right and they continued to rush down the lengthy hallway.

"Are you sure?" asked Ethan.

"I should be. I did build it, right?"

"What do we do when we get there?" Kendrix asked.

"Once we get to weapon controls, we'll need to overload the circuits. The firing apparatus takes up so much juice that a few tweaks here and there should delay it considerably."

"Delay?" Ethan asked. "Doc, we need to destroy this thing so that it can't ever be used again!"

"Weeeeeeell, that's a bit trickier… Oh! Down those stairs." Madman led the pair down the set of stairs. "It's a very complicated device that could collapse the whole station if not treated carefully. We can't just pull in guns blazing and zap the thing to death."

Ethan sighed in frustration while Kendrix continued to think about the nature of the weapon.

Meanwhile Admiral Axl was overlooking Triforia from the bridge of the space station. He too was pulling up visuals of the surface, observing his former people rallying against him. "Those Triforian fools. They think they can dent my weapon with yesterday's blasters? It's time to end this miserable race and finally rid myself of them forever."

Admiral Axl turned a knob on the bridge's console which began to warm up the weapon. The weapon started giving off a yellowish-white light from the bottom of the space station. The Triforians down below looked on upon the charging beam as if a second sun had started to emerge, blinding the landscape with its glow. They were attempting to fire everything they had at the station, including the capital city's long range laser cannons, but nothing was working.

Madman, Ethan, and Kendrix were most privy to the newfound rumbling at their feet. Madman knew immediately and communicated with the rest of the team. "Uh oh, sounds like Axl is warming up the weapon. Better get moving."

Carter responded from higher up on the station. "We're almost at the bridge of the station now. That's where he should be operating from."

At last, the Axl-fighting team reached the bridge doors and quickly kicked them down. They took a look inside, but there was no sign of Axl. All the while, the floor beneath them started to shake.

"The weapon, it's charging up," said Axis. "We haven't a moment to lose."

"That's correct, brother." Suddenly, Axl appeared from around a hallway. "But only because you have no moments left."

Axis looked back at him with an intense glare. "This is the highest form of treason. I will see to it that you regret your actions on this day for years to come."

"You're a talented talker, brother. Always have been. But none of your words will make a difference now. My weapon is charging. There is no stopping it. And, in the meantime, I can slay the last Triforian."

Axis was stung by the words, their dismissive and relaxed nature. "Have you fallen so far as to forget your own people, brother…? Our parents, our old dwelling? Does none of that mean anything to you anymore!?"

"All that matters to me is universal conquest. If that means sacrificing my people, so be it."

"We're here to stop you, Axl," Jason stated. "And it's four on one so I suggest you give up now. It doesn't have to get any messier."

Axl started to rev up his electric powers out of both hands and fired them upon the team. A blinding pile of smoke built up around the area he zapped. "Hmm, all too easy."

Axl started to turn around only to see out of the corner of his eye, Jason charging in. "Not today!" He emerged from the smoke and whipped out his Chronic Blaster, using it to shot down every inch of Axl he could see.

"Enough of this!" Axl grabbed the blaster from Jason's hand, crushed it with the force of his grip, and tossed it aside.

From behind Axl, Axis let out a lightning blast of his own landing square on Axl's face. Carter and Taylor followed in from the front and gunned down Axl with repeated shots from their blasters while Axl was forced down to one knee. Tiny fragments of Axl's red and black mask started to chip away under the heat of the battle. A sizable crack could be found cascading across his concealed face.

"Now… you've made me mad." Axl then surrounded himself with an electrical field and rose from the ground.

The blaster rounds kept coming, but they couldn't penetrate the field. Not even Axis' power was strong enough to penetrate Axl's barrier.

"Now, die!" Axl unleashed the electrical energy in almost every direction, taking aim at Taylor, Carter, and Axis.

Axis managed to avoid the strike while Jason rushed in front of Carter and Taylor. He then called upon his green aura and used it to knock the electrical surges away.

Axl continued to push volt after volt of power into his attack to break through Jason's aura, but his aura kept repelling the continual surge. Jason tried to put more into his aura and walk forward. "You… cannot… be allowed… to win!"

Axl was focusing everything he had on trying to repel Jason's forward motion, but was struggling to stop it. Just then, Axl lost his footing. "What?"

He looked back to notice Axis had been using his electrical powers to burn the surface underneath Axl while he was repelling Jason's aura. "You must learn to mind your surroundings, brother. A lesson for the afterlife, I suppose."

With Axis' distraction, Axl's attack broke off. Axl's right foot was completely stuck in place.

"Jason, got anymore juice?" asked Carter.

"Plenty."

"Good," Taylor replied. "Let's take it to him."

Carter and Taylor rushed into Axl and and smashed the sides of his midsection with harsh kicks.

 _This is it!_ Jason focused his aura's energy completely into his fists and charged Axl with everything he had. "Now, you're finished!" Jason connected with a punishing strike to Axl's face followed up by a powerful blow to the stomach.

"Gaaahhh!" Axl grieved in pain.

As Axl tried desperately to gather himself, Jason struck him two more times, refusing to let up. "That was one for every member of my team that you threatened the life of." Jason tightly clenched his fist and cocked back his fist once more. "And this last one… it's from all of us, every planet, every person, every nation that you can't harm anymore because your reign is coming to an end!"

He threw one last punch as hard as he could, landing squarely on the facemask of Axl, smashing his mask until there was only half of it left. The broken fragments started to clack upon the floor, littering the ground with black and red pieces.

Axl tried to cover the exposed left side of his face and turned away from Jason. Axis looked into his one exposed eye, and was left speechless at the sight.

"Things are still bumpy here," Taylor communicated to the others. "Is that weapon still charging up?"

"Taylor, it's Ethan. We made it to the control station. We delayed this thing, but we can't stop its charging sequence with anything here."

"Darn it all!" Madman cried. "I built this thing and I can't even turn it off? Its energy is just too strong."

Just then, Kendrix had a idea. "Wait, I think I might know a way to shut this thing down. If it has too much energy to turn off, then we can use that energy against it."

"But how?" asked Ethan.

"I looked into the compact version back on the Moonbase. If I'm not mistaken, this weapon eliminates life by elemental targeting, correct?"

"That is technically true," Madman replied. "With all the different elemental components of lifeforms, calibration becomes hard and… wait a minute you've really got something haven't you?"

Kendrix nodded. "First, we reprogram the weapon to fire on any sign of the metal that this station is made out of. Then, we reverse the polarity of the firing apparatus so that the blast goes inward. Last, we get out of here before this whole thing implodes with us inside."

Ethan looked to Madman. "Can we do that?"

"Ha! Yes we can. I completely forgot about reversing the firing apparatus."

"Did everyone get that clear?" communicated Kendrix.

"Kendrix, you're a genius!" replied Jason.

"Alright team, we know our play," Carter said. "Now get on it and we'll have the Astro4 waiting for you around your position."

While the team was in contact, Axis approached the fallen Axl and examined him closely. "As I suspected. It would seem we have an imposter."

Jason and the others quickly turned around. "Are you saying that's not Axl? Who else could it be?"

Axis grabbed the Axl look a like by the collar and flug him towards the others. "Have a look at the true face behind the mask."

As Jason did so, he immediately was stricken back by shock as his heart rate jumped and his eyes watered. "No… no it can't be… it can't be!"

But it was. Taylor and Carter looked on with equal shock and alarm. Taylor had her suspicions from the start, but none could have predicted a twist as dark as this. The man behind the mask was no man at all. It was Queen Diane herself. Nobody knew what to do with this newfound information. Nobody knew how to respond.

But Carter had to shake it off. There was still a mission to accomplish. "Guys… we have to get back to the Astro4. We only have maybe minutes before the station goes critical. I'll contact Alex and tell him to bring the ship around."

Axis lifted Diane onto his back. "I assume none of you would like the honor?"

"Shut up and move." stated Taylor coldly.

Axis smirked. "I like this one. Much more bite than your last Yellow Ranger."

Carter, Taylor, and Axis started to move out, but Jason stood frozen in place. Carter noticed and quickly walked back to him.

"Jason, I know… but we have to go."

Jason could barely hear Carter, but his body seemed to just move all by itself, as if something else took over him, looking to escape the danger. He couldn't even hear his footsteps as he looked down upon his dashing feet. Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing felt real. It had to be a misunderstanding. There had to be an explanation. It couldn't be… could it?

Carter, Jason, and Taylor needed to fight through their mixed emotions and race towards the Astro4. After they got back on board, Axis and Carter placed Diane in an empty room and fully restrained her arms and legs.

Once Kendrix, Ethan, and Madman were safely aboard, Axis took to the transmission to relay one more message to the Triforian people. "People of Triforia, do not let up! Keep firing those weapons! It's causing an overheat in the weapons systems!"

Not long after, the weapon fired inwards, destabilizing all the metallic components within the station and causing a massive implosion that torched the skyline, ultimately leaving the horizon empty, save for the orange-purple hues that coated the afternoon skies. Victorious cries and jubilation could be heard for miles down every road, corner, and crack of the Triforian capital. Song and drink soon followed. Axis could already tell that a new holiday would be in order to make this occasion.

"Why did you tell them all that?" asked Ethan.

Axis gazed out the window, taking in the horizon of his home. "I'm sure your people will tell their own version of these events, as well they should. But as far as I'm concerned, this day belongs with my people, who stood fast and never backed down when they were put to the ultimate test. They are why I fight, and today, they won."

Ethan was pleasantly surprised by Axis' show of compassion. "You feeling okay? Aren't you supposed to be some power hungry tyrant? Sacrificing people for your own gain, that whole thing?"

Axis giggled. "Yes, something like that. Power does require sacrifice, Blue Ranger. However, some sacrifices simply aren't worth it."

Ethan looked around the bridge and realized he was the only Ranger present. "Shoot, did I miss a team meeting memo?"

"I'm afraid not. The rest of your colored kind are preoccupied dealing with the truth."

Ethan left the bridge and eventually found Kendrix, Taylor, and Alex standing near each other quietly. Alex was as emotionless as ever, but Kendrix looked particularly distraught. You could tell from her flushed cheeks that she had been crying before now and only just pulled herself together. Taylor's fists were clenched and rumbling with seething rage that she could just barely keep under control. Ethan was about to open his mouth, but feared how Taylor, looking more intense than usual, might respond. Nobody was speaking. They were barely moving. And Ethan had no clue as to why.

All the while, Carter was inside a makeshift interrogation room. He couldn't even bring himself to look upon the face in front of him, all while bearing the heavy burden of the reality: Queen Diane, leader of the universe's new reign of peace and prosperity, was actually posing as Admiral Axl for an undisclosed amount of time. The Power Rangers had supported her goals from the very beginning. And now every single one of them was forced to question just how much damage they were responsible for.

Carter finally looked back at her with a noticeable rage in his eyes. "Just answer me one thing: why!?"

Diane turned her gaze aside. "I demand to speak with my son."

"Your son…!? You lost your right to call him that after what you've pulled. There we were, trying to protect people from every conceivable threat in the universe… except you. I should have stopped you, stopped all of this the moment you sacrificed my first team like cattle."

Daine's glare then met Carter's eyes. "You cannot hope to understand my position, as mother or a ruler. I did what needed to be done."

Carter took a deep breath to calm himself down. "You will answer for every crime you've committed. I promise you that."

"And who would run such a trial? Who would dare sentence me? You have no idea of the ramifications of your actions, Ranger. The powers you trifle with go further than you can possibly comprehend. You think you've seen the deep end? Oh no. You'll drown long before you make it to me."

Carter shook his head and started to leave the room. "You know… I once thought you stood for something truly great. Something I never thought possible back in my time. Something I was willing to give my life in service of… But you're no different than the last Queen I fought."

Carter left the room and closed the door behind him.

Just then, a ceiling hatch opened up and out popped Jason, causing Diane to stand up in alarm. "My son—"

"Sit down." replied Jason intensely.

Diane slowly shrugged back into her seat.

Jason had a bit of time to collect himself, to sort through this mess. But even still, he couldn't understand any of it. "The others don't want me in here with you. I know they're just looking out for me, but I need to know the truth… For once, do you think you could manage that?"

Diane quickly nodded. "Yes, my son."

"Why were you disguised as Admiral Axl? Please tell me you just forgot what day Halloween was or something."

Diane took a deep breath before explaining, "I took on the role of Admiral Axl many years ago… I couldn't tell you exactly when. The fear he struck in the hearts of so many was a powerful asset; I couldn't let his recognition go to waste. So, when I finally eliminated him, I told no one. His infamy only grew as the mystery of his disappearance became public. I then took his mask and attire, even built a suit that would be big enough to match his height. Then, I could invoke proper justice using his name and create a true legend, kept alive through unsubstantiated rumors of his return."

Tears began to run down Jason's face, a face he could not even bring himself to show to the woman that raised him. The truth was tearing him apart, eating away at his beating heart while his senses dimmed. But he needed to know the rest. "...And then what?"

"And then, I could finally expand my kingdom with 'Axl' doing the work I dare not touch. It was through this alter-ego that I can credit much of my success. Opposition arrived, diplomatic options proved limited, Axl dealt with it from the shadows. I would then reap the rewards. But I couldn't stop there. Unforeseen threats lurk in every corner of the universe, so I needed a special kind of weapon to ensure my kingdom could deter any attempt on my life before it happened."

"That weapon… you always meant to use it against your enemies if you didn't get your way…"

"When word got out that the good Doctor was developing such a powerful weapon, people began to question the civility of my political tactics. So, I had him 'removed' as a way to get him closer to whoever would step up as my next major adversary. That turned out to be none other than General Axis. Once he got word of my weapon, of course he'd try to force my hand. And I knew he would go to Madman, the canned maniac seeking revenge on me, or so he thought."

The decisive, unremorseful tenor of Diane's voice. It more so than the tale itself was tearing Jason apart. Even while restrained, she never once felt that her actions weren't justified. "You lied and manipulated everyone around you… even I was nothing more than a pawn in your game. I bet me being a Ranger was all part of your big plan as well!"

Diane sighed in grief. "That was never part of the plan. The Ranger Academy was not supposed to be attacked. I took issue with that, but knowing that a weapon much more powerful than a handful of colorful heroes was on the horizon made it so that I could live with the sacrifice, if it meant preserving an empire. You Rangers speak of defending the weak and protecting the good. Both noble aspirations. But wars are neither won nor prevented through nobility. I needed more."

"You… really care about no one but yourself… I… I don't even know who you are anymore!"

"Jason, my son, you are one of the few truly indispensable people in my life. I did what I did not just for me, but to protect you." Diane turned her gaze away, wincing in pain from the recollection of a powerful memory. She held tight to her neck scars. "Having power… means that no one can abuse you anymore, defile you anymore… and I refuse to go back to being the helpless little girl I once was."

A few tears were jarred loose from Diane's face. Jason finally began to turn around to face her. "You've… never cried in front of me before."

"Do you what happens? What happens when you haven't the power to stop anyone? It began many years ago when I was nothing more than a happy-go-lucky up and coming politician with a dream of becoming one of Earth's universal representatives. We had been establishing successful contact with alien beings of all kinds from all different worlds and galaxies for centuries. We have your fellow Rangers from Space Patrol Delta to thank for beginning such an initiative. But then, everything changed when Admiral Axl came to Earth. I was so naive, so starry-eyed… Axl saw right through me."

Jason's tightness started to fade as the pain caught in Diane's voice became overpowering. "And then what happened?"

"And then… I realized who I really was back then. Nothing more than a powerless girl, and… he took advantage of me… for his own pleasure."

Jason could feel his whole body quiver at the revelation. His eyes widened with fear as Diane uncomfortably rubbed against the scars on her neck again.

"Once his true motives became known, he threatened war upon the Earth. We were able to drive him back, but only after years of struggle. During our fights against Axl, I had you to care for and I would be damned if anyone was ever going to get to you. So, I buckled down and committed fully to my political work. I amassed social capital and with it, power wherever I went. And after several hard fought decades, peace and stability could finally be enjoyed across the universe with me, their Queen, at the heart… But that experience… it changed me forever… Years of nights would go by where I'd be forced awake by the memories… kept awake by my own screams of terror… I had my political career to consider, so I couldn't tell a soul what I was going through. I could only use it as motivation."

Jason tried to put all the pieces together, then came across a frightening possibility. "Wait… does that mean that Axl is…"

"I know where you're going with this and no, Axl is most definitely not your father. Your true father was a great man, an honest and loyal man. He was killed by Admiral Axl's hand… He was trying to save us both while you were barely two months old." Diane's expression quickly turned to one of rage as more tears slide down her cheek. "That man… he nearly took everything away from me… Finally slaying Axl… driving my hand through his dark heart… it should have been one of the most gratifying experiences of my life, but… all I felt was more pain as I looked upon my blood soaked hands. Hands I would never be able to wash."

Diane wiped away her tears and looked back to Jason. "You have to understand, my son. Everything I did was to protect us from the cruel and horrible universe out there. The things I've seen, the things I've had to do, the things done to me… all so that you could live in a world where you didn't have to make the same hard calls that I did."

Jason took it all in. His thoughts felt blurry, clouded by the his heightened pulse that he could feel all the way up to his throbbing skull. He stared directly at Diane. "...In trying to protect us… you ended up becoming an even bigger monster than you could have possibly feared. You… are no mother of mine."

The cold words. Diane could feel them piercing through her heart as Jason exited the room without another word. She felt weak in her knees, a familiar feeling. She was brought back to the time that her father once walked out through a similar door. He never came back. Her mother passed away soon after. She could still remember the fading warmth of her hand as her life slipped away. Diane was alone again.

As Jason walked down the hall, he rubbed the sides of his head, still trying to wrap his head around everything. His heart was still pounding through his chest, as if his body still believed itself to be on the battlefield. He looked at his right hand and jumped back a bit, realizing the pair of blood stains on his morpher. His own mother's blood now adding to the heavy weight on his wrist.

Just around the corner, the rest of his team was waiting for him. Kendrix immediately rushed to Jason to embrace him. "Jason, I'm so sorry."

The entire team had been shaken up severely by the revelation. They didn't care that they had been pawns in the Queen's game. They didn't care about how complicated the road before them would be. All they cared about right now was each other. Soon, the entire team found themselves in embrace in hopes to comfort Jason.

"Power Rangers… forever." Jason said.

"Power Rangers forever." said the rest of the team in unison.

Suddenly, Alex contacted the others from the bridge. "Rangers, you're needed on the bridge."

"We're on our way," replied Carter as he looked to the others. "Come on guys, we still have work to do."

The team all made their way to the bridge where Alex awaited them alongside a distracted Madman and an impatient looking General Axis.

"Alex, thanks again for all of your help." said Carter.

"I do what I can." Alex looked back at Axis and Madman. "Now, what do we do with these two? Technically, they're still criminals."

"I think the solution is quite obvious," replied Axis. "Considering we helped save Triforia from a higher form of evil, I believe it cancels out our previous transgressions."

"That's a thing in the future?" Ethan asked.

"No, it isn't," stated Carter. "Nothing can erase what you two have done, all those lives that you stole. There's no way you can hope to repent so easily."

"In my own defense, I was just following orders!" said Doctor Madman.

"You still had a choice." replied Taylor coldly.

Axis' gaze became sharp as he revved up his electrical powers. "You have no cells here, Earthers. How do you propose to take me in?"

"Guys, enough," stated Carter. "Look, you two both did some really horrible things, and some good things. A fair trial is the only way we do this."

Axis looked dismissive of the idea. "The universe will soon know that their Queen has been unmasked. Only chaos and disarray can follow. Every stretch of the universe will be at odds with each other in a mad scramble to claim the power left behind. So do tell me how relevant a trial would be?"

Just then, the Astro4 came to a screeching halt.

"Ah, right on time." said Axis.

"What have you done to the ship, Axis?" asked Carter.

"Me? Oh no. You see, it's what _they_ did to the ship. They being my people and did being a tractor beam keeping this ship firmly within firing range… Unless of course, my release is secured."

The team started trading glances back at each other, unsure of how to proceed.

"Let him go," said Jason, breaking his lengthy silence. "He's right… the universe will be unbalanced now, more than ever. Who even knows what that might look like. Triforia will need their leader for the times ahead. They're willing to do anything for him, and regardless of the spats we've had in the past, there's something admirable about that… Plus, they've got way more guns than us right now."

The others weren't sold on the idea, but they were also low on options. Soon, they came to an accord on setting Axis free.

A few minutes later, a smaller ship docked on top of the Astro4, ready to escort Axis back home. "I'm sure we'll meet again, Rangers. Until then." He quickly departed from the ship.

"I'm sorry guys," Jason said. "But, I felt that we've risked our lives enough for one day. He's right though. I'm sure we'll be seeing him again real soon."

"Good call, kid." Taylor replied.

"So what now?" asked Ethan. "How do we arrest a Queen?"

Carter looked to Alex. "That's more your jurisdiction. Any ideas?"

Alex nodded. "Captain Logan informed me that he wants Madman under Time Force lockdown. Processing him will be the simpler of the two."

"Okay. And the Queen?"

"Verinox 12. It's the most secure prison system in the universe. More importantly, it operates independently of monarchies, governments, all of it. It's as fair and balanced as we're gonna get."

Carter nodded. "Verinox 12 it is."

"I'll set the course." Ethan replied.

After about two hours of traversing through space at light speeds, the team reached Verinox 12. It was a planet filled to the brim with ice and snow, void of a nearby sun. The Verinoxians who survived there had evolved pale, icey skin to withstand the harsh environment. The environment was perfect for keeping foreign prisoners void of both freedom and hope, for any escape attempt would mean certain death for the uninitiated.

Alex had informed the local warden ahead of time to expect one high priority prisoner. As the Astro4 landed, the blue robe wearing warden and his ice faced prison guards were there to greet them.

"Sir, can we trust you with this prisoner?" Alex stated. "High priority might have been putting it lightly."

Diane was led out of the ship by Carter and Taylor with restraints on her arms.

The warden raised an eyebrow at the surprise sight of the universe's Queen. "Huh… well well. You gentlemen have gotten yourselves into a bit of trouble, haven't you?"

"Will this be a problem?" asked Carter.

Diane looked to the warden and gave him subtle smirk. The warden noticed it, and then looked at the others. "And what crime did this here Queen of yours commit?"

Alex nodded and explained, "She tried to end another race of people, amongst many other things. Last I checked, genocide was still a crime in every system."

"Ahhh, the heavy stuff." The warden looked back to Diane. "And how do you plea?"

"...Guilty."

"Ha! Is that right? That almost never works. Well then, bring her inside to meet her new playmates."

Carter and Taylor nodded to each other and followed the warden inside.

"You sure I can't get two minutes alone with her?" Taylor asked.

"I know how you feel. But we'll need our strength for whatever comes next."

Taylor forced her boiling blood to cool with a deep breath. "Yeah…"

When Carter and Taylor finally returned to the Astro4, they both nodded their heads, signifying that the job was done. The others felt a bit more at ease.

"I've updated Captain Logan," said Alex. "Madman is all set for his trial at Time Force."

"Good," Carter replied. "Guys, let's head back to Earth."

"What's going to happen now?" Ethan asked. "The Queen was just unseated, right…? Sooo…"

Ethan looked to Jason. Everyone else's stare quickly followed.

"By law, the right of rule must extend to you," stated Alex. "Even now, we still need to hold onto our guiding policies."

"W-What…?" Jason stepped back a bit fearfully.

Taylor stepped a little bit in front of Jason with arms crossed. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

Just then, the Astro4 was receiving a communication from Captain Logan that was put on screen. "Everyone, I'm glad you're alright. I'm told you've all had a busy afternoon."

"Sir." Alex stepped closer to the screen. "Queen Diane has been successfully transfered to Verinox 12."

"Good. We can transport the mad doctor from where you are. Just give us a second."

Logan motioned to an officer behind him who pushed a series of button, activating a matter transportation device in front of them. Then, Carter brought Madman out to the bridge.

"We're ready, sir." stated Alex.

"Fire it up." ordered Logan.

Madman's body was suddenly turned into light particles before vanishing off of the bridge. A few moments later, he reappeared inside Time Force Headquarters with two officers waiting to detain him.

"Good job, son. Mission complete." said Logan.

Alex took a deep breath of relief and nodded.

As the transmission faded out, Jason coyly raised his hand. "I know there's still a lot to do… but I thought I'd be cool to take a slight detour on our way back home."

"Detour?" Alex looked confused.

"You know what?" Kendrix added. "I think we've earned ourselves a vacation."

Carter nodded. "Ethan, set a course for… where should we go?"

"Mirinoi?" asked Jason to Kendrix.

"Future Mirinoi? I'd love to." she replied.

Jason looked to Taylor, who didn't wear the most approving face. But seeing Jason somewhat excited slowly started to disarm her, even bringing out the slightest of smiles. "...Fine… sounds fun."

"Fun?" Ethan smirked. "You sure you can handle that?"

Alex was a bit more hesitant. "Despite the Captain's praise, this mission is not over yet. There'll be repercussions from what happened here for decades to come, political unrest the likes of which—"

"Agreed," interrupted Carter. "And we can prepare for the storm to come after we clear our heads a little. It's something we could all use."

Alex looked around, clearly outnumbered, and reluctantly nodded.

Carter then looked to Ethan. "Ethan, set a course for Mirinoi."

Ethan smiled as he rubbed his hands together. "Coming right up."

The Astro4 then made the jump to hyperspace en route to Mirinoi. The trip would take just under three hours, including passing the third quadrant lines towards the fourth where Mirinoi resided.

The team had another reprieve on their hands. Jason found himself sneaking in looks at Kendrix and then looking away. He knew what he wanted to say, but didn't know how to say it. Kendrix noticed his continual stares and smiled back before walking out of the bridge. Jason wasn't sure if she meant for him to follow her, or if she just wanted to be on her own for a bit. But his overthinking was interrupted by Taylor's hand on his shoulder.

"Kid, what're you doing?"

"Oh! I'm just… thinking."

"You don't have to, believe me."

"I know, but… well, technically I don't know. I'm just assuming that I do know while trying to think through the specifics and… I don't know…"

"Kid… don't do what I did. Don't let her go… just because you didn't know exactly what to say."

Jason looked back to Taylor in shock. He knew exactly what she was talking about, but never knew the details beyond where the Wild force story stopped in the Ranger archives. "I'm sorry… about Eric."

"Don't be…" Taylor held tight to her emotions. "I already was."

Jason wasn't exactly sure to say here either. Taylor had never opened up to him before. Before now, he knew, but in this moment, it was more clear than ever how incomplete his original perceptions were. Perhaps Taylor couldn't have taken out an army by herself, as Jason once thought. The Yellow Wild Force Ranger was pretty incredible, but Taylor Earhardt was so much more. "Hey… do you think we could train some more later? Never know when we'll need it, right?"

Taylor let out the smallest of giggles. "Sure, kid. Now go. Don't make me drag you."

Jason smiled and went on his way. Taylor was about to go on her way too when Jason came back and gave her a hug. Taylor wasn't used to this, at all, but even still, she slowly followed up with a gentle hug of her own, carefully patting Jason's back.

"Thanks, Taylor."

"Anytime, kid."

Then, Jason left the bridge and quickly found Kendrix staring out at the quickly passing lights and stars of hyperspace.

"I've been waiting for you, King Jason." Kendrix said jokingly.

"Hilarious…" Jason took a deep breath and began, "So… I'm not very good at this sort of thing but… the truth is… it's hard to look back at my life before you came into it. It's that much harder recently…"

The twisted emotions of his situation started rising to the surface. Jason tried to keep them in check as he continued, "This Ranger journey, it's been hell at times. But, I was always able to get through the roughest patches. Because in those moments, one thought always rushed into my head. I was thinking, if I could make it through just one more minute, just one more second, then all the pain and anguish would be worth it…" Jason held Kendrix' hand. "If it meant spending one more minute, one more second, with you."

Kendrix stood there smiling while she interlaced her fingers inside of Jason's. "You kind of like me, don't you?"

Jason was taken aback a bit by the directness. "Yes… yes I do… Well, to be technical, that might be underselling it."

Kendrix laughed a little and hugged Jason. "Well, that's a relief. It would have been really awkward if you didn't like me back."

Jason hugged her back. "Hehe, yeah… wait, so you mean that… and you..."

"I really like you too, Jason. But… what are we gonna do when the mission really ends?"

The words cut through Jason's heart. "I… don't know. I just… I don't want to let go."

Kendrix held him tighter. "Then don't."

Jason held her tighter. "I won't…"

The pair sat down next to each other as the stars continued to whisk by at breakneck pace. They took in the sight for a little longer.

"While we still have the time, I'd like to learn more about you," Kendrix said. "I think you know a lot about my life already."

"Hehe, yeah, that sounds great. I'm pretty bad at going into life details on the fly though…"

Kendrix thought about a question. "Let's start with an easy one… did you like anyone before me?"

Jason sighed. "Unfortunately, yes."

Kendrix' eyes lit up. "Ooooh, tell me more!"


	6. Home

**Chapter 15: Home**

After an eventful afternoon filled to the brim with threats of universal conquest and shattering identity reveals, the Chronic Storm team agreed that it was high time for a break. It may very well be their last chance to take one. They had nearly reached modern day Mirinoi, the planet that Kendrix and many other humans from Terra Venture started to call home way back in the year 1999. Over the next few centuries, Mirinoi had a handful of expected spats between the locals and the human settlers. It was difficult for outsiders to believe that a planet known for green grass and warm, welcoming people could have such a blood soaked history. In the modern day, those issues have long since been resolved, and Mirinoi stands proud as a functional society for all that reside there while also mostly maintaining the vibrant vegetation their planet was always known for. Striking that careful balance between progress and nature led to 200 years of peace for the planet and its people following their third, and ideally final, Civil War.

Inside the bridge of the Astro4, Carter, Alex, Taylor, and Ethan were monitoring their approach to Mirinoi. All the while, Taylor wore a look of great concern as she pondered over their recent royal arrest.

"The people we dealt with back there didn't seem especially convincing. I don't know that we can trust them."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Carter replied. "Diane's power came from her influence over other people. She won't have much of that in there. For now, we're safe."

Alex nodded in agreement, feeling slightly more comfortable with the situation, but still couldn't help but think about what awaited them after their detour came to an end. Most systems would fair well enough once Diane's crimes became public. But some systems depended on the kingdom to survive. What was to become of them?

"We're closing in on Mirinoi," Ethan said. "Exiting warp speed… now."

Meanwhile, Jason and Kendrix were still talking in another room. Jason was continuing to explain the details of his least successful relationship, assuming you could call it that.

"...And that's why the whole royalty thing never sat well with me. Well, I was never too into it, but this really put things into perspective. To think, I jokingly told her when I first met her that 'I am a Prince, kneel before me!' I thought it was funny, and she laughed at it too. Then, I find out she really was only interested in the prince, and not the Jason."

Kendrix gently rubbed Jason's back. "She has no idea what she missed out on. Although, it seemed like the early warning signs were there."

"Heh, yeah. I guess I convinced myself that she liked me for me. Even in my time, hindsight is 30/30."

"You mean, 20/20?"

"Huh? Really? Wow, how'd you old folk every find your way around?"

Kendrix pointed to her glasses. "By never leaving home without these."

"Haha. Fair point… may I?"

"Sure, only if I can."

Kendrix and Jason exchanged glasses and placed them on their faces. Jason immediately reeled back from the visual shock. His eyes weren't great, but Kendrix' were much worse. Jason's glasses on the other hand simply adjusted to Kendrix' eyesight, making her vision clearer than before.

"These are nice," Kendrix said while she observed her surroundings for what felt like the first time. "I've never had glasses this rectangular before."

Kendrix then turned her head out towards the window as the Astro4 was leaving hyper speed. She was quickly taken aback by the sight of Mirinoi on the horizon, in as picturesque a view as she had ever seen. The green, lush forests and jungles of Mirinoi shone through the Astro4's window, filling Kendrix with glee.

Jason could see it too, albeit much blurrier. But what was clearer for him was the bright smile of Kendrix. Of the two, he was much more captivated by that sight.

"It's funny," Kendrix said. "I lived on Mirinoi for about a year before I met you, and then all of this… but something about going back home, even almost 1000 years later, it just feels special."

"I've never actually been to Mirinoi in this time. I'm excited for this. But I'm gonna need those glasses back before you get too attached."

Kendrix laughed and took his glasses off. She then gently placed them back on his face. Jason followed suit and placed Kendrix' glasses back on her face.

"Heh, they're juuust a wee bit crooked." Jason said.

Kendrix shook her head with a smile and gently adjusted his glasses. "The things I do for you. Better?"

"Better." Jason stood their in his regained visual clarity, losing himself in Kendrix' bright brown eyes.

"...Good." Kendrix found herself doing the same, staring deeply into Jason's black eyes.

"Good…" Jason found himself slowly bringing his face closer to hers, as if caught in another tractor beam.

Kendrix found herself doing the same as her eyelids started to gently close in anticipation. She wrapped her arms around him to pull him in even closer.

Jason carefully parted back a loose strand of Kendrix' blonde hair before he pressed his lips against hers. The entire room vanished from sight as Jason closed his eyes and gently caressed Kendrix' face. Time itself seemed to grind to a sudden halt. Neither could hear the monotonous airflow seeping out of the Astro4's vents. Neither could feel their feet upon the ground or the uniforms tightly strapped upon their forms. All they could feel in that moment was each other.

Suddenly, an alert sounded from both of their morphers. They were both forced to open their eyes and return to reality. The moment was gone and time marched on. They both looked at each other with awkward smiles before laughing a bit.

"We should…" started Kendrix.

"Yeah… we should." replied Jason.

Kendrix then held onto Jason's arm as they walked back to the bridge together. As soon as they made it, Ethan raised his hands in the air while wearing an excited look.

"Guys, awesome news! I was able to find, re-program, and upload DECA, the automated computer system that helped run the original Astro Megaship. We might need it with all these high-priority enemies we keep facing."

"That's incredible, Ethan." Kendrix replied as she walked over the the console. "It's been awhile since I've heard her."

Ethan then pressed a button on the console and a female voice sounded, "Good evening, Rangers. I am DECA. How may I be of service today?"

"Whoa." Carter looked all around the bridge trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. "Okay… DECA, how about securing the ship while we're out. Is that part of your programming?"

"Certainly, Carter. I will keep the Astro Megaship Mark IV on lockdown until you return."

Ethan slyly smiled and nodded. "Is she great or what?"

Taylor walked over to Jason, quickly glanced at Kendrix and then back at him. Jason understood the subtle gesture and smiled at her. Taylor playfully punched him in his shoulder and smiled back.

The Astro4 entered the Mirinoian atmosphere and began its landing sequence. The ship slowed down and gently touched upon the surface, signalling their arrival.

"Alright guys, no real mission here," said Carter. "Let's just try to have some fun."

Meanwhile, back on Triforia, the people were still partying in the streets; singing songs, dancing gigs, and consuming all manner of mood-altering beverages. General Axis had received a hero's welcome from his people in the aftermath of helping dismantle Queen Diane's weapon. He wished to join them in their merriment, but with unstable circumstances looming, he needed to quickly shift gears and return to to his work. He made his way to his up to the top floor of the capitol building where his first lieutenant was eagerly awaiting him.

"Welcome back, My General. Your return is truly a blessing."

Axis nodded. "Given all that has happened in these past few days, I do feel blessed, Lieutenant. However, my own celebrations must be short lived. The Queen has been exposed for what she truly is and the balance of power in the universe will experience a rather dramatic shift once the news becomes public intel."

"Queen Diane…? What do you mean, My General?"

"All will be made clear in time. But right now, I must make contact with the allies we have left."

Axis entered a large meeting room and contacted all of the remaining star systems and planets of the Resistance. Most responded with a full-body holographic projection manifesting inside the meeting room. Axis could sense their burning gazes, despite their opaque nature. He was not to be greeted with the same welcome that his people gave him.

"The invasion of Earth was a bitter failure!" exclaimed one leader, a relatively young male shot caller from the planet Sentai 6. "I wasted some of my best soldiers on your promise for results, General Axis!"

Another chimed in, a lizard-humanoid hybrid female commander from the planet of Horath. "Almost half of my damn fleet was spent in that invasion, and those that survived began to question what the hell even brought us to Earth. Get to talking!"

Another, calmer leader, an older male from the planet Inquirus, spoke next, "We all want the same thing here. We're all fighting for our freedom; the right to be self-governed. However, I am uncertain that we can achieve these ambitions with our current hierarchy in tact."

Complaint upon complaint reigned down, quickly devolving into unrest among the ranks of Resistance leaders. The continual adding of layers to the inaudible disagreements began to weigh on the General's patience.

"That's enough!" cried Axis loudly.

The bickering leaders quickly silenced their quarreling.

"Allies, we have experienced a setback and your frustrations are understandable. But, if this internal squabbling continues, we will never achieve our goals. We must always remember why we fight as one; why we resist."

"Such words mean little now, General," replied the Sentai 6 representative. "Do you have a more substantive plan than 'stay the course'?"

Axis smirked in response. "Don't I always? Part of being a good General is staying several steps ahead of everyone else. Leaders, allies, comrades, what I tell you next is very delicate information that we must act on before it spreads. Queen Diane is not the all righteous benevolent ruler that she claims, heh, obviously. You were told that Admiral Axl, who had been hardly heard from for years, was responsible for the attack on Triforia and Zordina. However, it was actually the Queen herself in a mad attempt to wipe out any and all opposition to her rule."

"Impossible!" said one leader.

"Oh I assure you, it's a little more than possible. To shroud himself inside rumors, and then to suddenly reappear to grandstand the universe? Even for as mad as Axl became in his later years, something didn't add up. During my multiple imprisonments, and breakouts, it all started to become clear. The Queen used my brother's legacy and likeness as a means to her darker ends. What's more, she's likely directly responsible for his death. That snake of a woman would do anything to ensure her stranglehold on the universe remains intact."

The allied leaders traded looks of amazement back at each other while they processed the intelligence.

"Where is the Queen now?" asked the Inquirus leader.

"She is currently in custody on Verinox 12. Captured, by her own Power Rangers, ironically enough."

"It won't be long until those damn Rangers return to Earth," replied the Horath leader. "What's gonna go down when the kingdom learns the truth?"

"According to the ship I have tailing them, the Rangers are en route to Mirinoi currently, a world loyal to the kingdom. Our discovery of the Queen's truth will do little on Earth. She has enough people in her pocket to make it all disappear. As a matter of fact, I predict she'll find a way to frame the Rangers for the entire fiasco. Something tells me she'll have little use for them now."

The Sentai 6 leader sighed. "All of this… and we could be right back where we started from?"

"We need not fret, allies. The Queen will likely find a way to escape Verinoxian imprisonment, and when she does, she'll come for the Rangers. That's exactly what we want, because while their focus is on each other, I will personally see to the termination of both the Queen and her rainbow warriors in one fell swoop. By the rise of the next day's sun, this longstanding war will finally, and mercifully, end."

The allied leaders all seemed more confident and steadfast at this point.

The Inquirus leader spoke once more, "It would seem that once again, our future is in your hands, General."

"Try not to screw it all up, again." added the Horath leader.

"But of course." Axis bowed to his allies before turning around and leaving the room. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to put the monarchy in its place."

As Axis was departing his meeting room, his first lieutenant rushed towards him while gasping for air. "My… General…!"

Axis glared sharply at him. "Present yourself properly when delivering a report, Lieutenant."

The lieutenant caught his breath and stood up straight. "Apologies, My General. The time warp technology. The science division has made a breakthrough."

Axis' eyes widened. "I shall head over immediately. Have a ship ready for departure the second my meeting with them concludes."

"Consider it done, My General."

Meanwhile, the Chronic Storm team, and Alex, disembarked the Astro4 after touching ground on modern day Mirinoi. Much to the shock of everyone aboard, a swell of locals had already started gathering around the ship, applauding, cheering, and yelling with each step forward the team took. No one told Mirinoi they were coming. They all simply saw what looked like the Astro Megaship and came running. Even today, the legacy of power resonated deeply in Mirinoian culture. And the tale of the five Power Rangers and one Magna Defender that had stopped Trakeena and saved two galaxies had been passed on for centuries.

"This is amazing." Kendrix said.

"All of these people came out just to see us?" asked Taylor.

An older looking man with a scruff white beard and a few patches of white hair on his head stepped up to approach the team. "It's been almost one thousand years. But still, we won't ever forget."

"Nice." Jason looked to Kendrix. "Looks like you're still famous here."

"This all feels so surreal," replied Kendrix while turning her head all around to take in the scenery. "I wonder how Terra Venture has changed."

"You can find out for yourself when I personally escort you there," the older man said. "The name is Commander Scott. I run Terra Venture, the capital city centerpiece of a truly magnificent planet."

"Thank you, sir." replied Carter.

The Rangers were then led to modern day Terra Venture by Commander Scott. Within minutes, the tall, central Terra Venture towers hit the horizon. They were slightly bigger than Kendrix remembered them being. And the city itself had expanded a fair bit since the early 2000's.

The team was then given a special tour all around Terra Venture. Kendrix found herself pleasantly surprised by how little seemed to change over the 900 odd years, pardoning the multitude of expansions and renovations. But she could sense that much of the original colony aesthetics had been preserved. Near the front gate, they saw a statue of what looked to be Commander Stanton with a group of people behind him, serving as a proud reminder of those who gave up their lives on Earth in an effort to find the "New Word."

The group mainly toured through an area known as East Terra Venture, the city location that featured the vast majority of shopping outlets, attractions, and restaurants. It was a bustling location during the day and night with people of all kinds walking through the stone streets. But despite the classic aesthetic they clung to, the advancements and developments they've made were still on par with the many of the other universal super powers.

Carter was happy to actually experience Terra Venture and Mirinoi for the first time after never having a chance to visit it back in his time, but hearing so much about it when he teamed up with the Galaxy Rangers. But it proved difficult for him to keep his mind too far removed from what the consequences of their latest mission would be.

Ethan had to give it to Jason. In truth, his sci-fi movies didn't measure up to experiencing a true to form future city. He could see himself living in a place like this. Some of the most advanced quality of life technology existed in Mirinoi as well. Keeping constant track of air pollution and reducing environmental degradation was one of Mirinoi's biggest priorities. And through their extensive research on the myriad of local plant species, many illnesses and diseases that plagued entire solar systems were cured inside this very city.

Taylor was enjoying the tour, but was mostly quiet throughout. Her thoughts dwelled on home, on her commanding officer's concern. She had carried so much frustration with her into that time portal. Part of it was unfulfilling work, part of it was Eric. Letting go of him was tied to her re-enlisting in the Air Force. She thought it was bets move, the sensible move. Yet to this day, she questioned it.

Alex didn't seem to be enjoying himself but, then again, he never really seems to be enjoying himself.

For Jason, the weight of recent events still plagued his mind and infected his heart. Try as he might, there was little solace to be found in this trip, a trip he would often dream about before now. However, what kept him content was how happy Kendrix seemed to be, how radiant her smile was. She would love pointing things out and describing what had happened at that very spot once upon a time.

After the tour, the Rangers were being treated to a special home cooked feast, something they didn't indulge in too often with mission upon mission being their recent history. There were plenty of leafy greens, unsurprisingly, but also plenty of meat and fish for the more carnivorous among the group. They all feasted well that evening. All save Alex, who is reportedly "counting his caloric intake."

After the feast, Carter, Ethan, Taylor, and Alex were invited to do their own things while Jason wanted to take Kendrix to a spot with a special memory of his own. It took him a little bit of time to find, but eventually, he smiled and pointed to the spot, or at least, a spot close enough based on what he could recall.

"You got to spend the whole day talking about your favorite memories in Terra Venture, so I thought I'd add my own. Remember this place?"

Kendrix thought about it for a few moments, then the memory came back. "Wait… is this where you helped out that kid? The time I first noticed you?"

Jason nodded. "That's the time. Our first memory together, and of course, it's you stalking me."

The pair shared a light laugh.

Even though he looked content, Kendrix could tell he was still hurting inside, and trying to mask it. "Jason… you don't have to put on a front for me." Kendrix squeezed both his hands and gently caressed his knuckles with thumbs. "If and when you're ready, we can talk through this."

Jason wanted to open up to her, ease her mind so she wouldn't have to worry so much. But he didn't know how. All he knew was what he was taught. The only way his mother ever dealt with pain was to bury it, defeat it, and never let in resurface. Despite knowing better, that was still all Jason knew to do. "I'll be okay. Thanks, Kendrix." Jason forced half a smile on his face.

"You don't always have to be okay."

"I know, I just—"

Suddenly, a strange noise rung out from inside a nearby alley. Jason and Kendrix both instinctively readied their morphers as they vigilantly scanned their surroundings.

"What was that?" asked Jason.

"We should check it out." replied Kendrix.

They cautiously walked down the alleyway towards the source of the sound. There was a fair amount of blue trash receptacles lining the alley. The furthest one back shaked ever so slightly. The pair froze in place as a reddish-orange feline-like animal leapt out of the receptacle and scurried away.

Kendrix held on to her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Hehe, it was just a cat, or something that looks like one."

Jason sighed in relief too. "Being a Ranger for this long, it's really hard to turn it off, huh?"

"Actually, it was never that hard when the biggest threat to the galaxy was Trakeena. I had a real job too, so it helped me put away Ranger mode when we weren't fighting or training. Trakeena was tough, but we at least understood her motives and her tactics. But now, it's harder to say who our enemies are, or how they'll strike."

"Yeah…"

"Everything seems so complicated in the future."

Jason smirked a bit. "Missing the simple life?"

"Just a little bit."

"Only a little bit?"

Kendrix smiled back at Jason. "The 'simple life,' doesn't have you in it."

Jason smiled back at her. "To be fair though, there's a lot of letters it doesn't have. It's pretty good on e's though."

Kendrix laughed a little while shaking her head. "Wow, so we're doing dad jokes now?"

"And there's a lot more where that came from."

"I'm ecstatic…"

The pair continued to walk through the city together, hand in hand, all throughout the evening. They even stopped by Central Terra Venture to check out the modern day science division. The halls and labs were wildly different compared to the workstation Kendrix was used to, but seeing how far the science had come was mesmerizing.

An Earth-based breakthrough that had found its way to Mirinoi in the last few centuries was the complete mastery of the genome in both humans and natural Mirinoians. This discovery was able to eradicate nearly 100% of birth defects and genetic diseases in both species. While a genetics specialist was explaining how the process worked from conception to birth, Jason was caught up pondering the nature of his own genetics. Namely, what strange genes of his was responsible for his mysterious green-colored aura power. He had often heard reports of Earth based mutants, almost human beings that slipped through the cracks of the genetic breakthroughs. While the mutants were more susceptible to illness, some of them also developed great powers, dangerous powers, as a result of these genetic mistakes. He couldn't help but wonder if was he was one of these "mistakes." Jason forced the thought away. There was already a great deal on his mind. He wasn't sure it could bear any more weight.

Meanwhile, Carter was walking through the crowded streets of Central Terra Venture. He was looking through some of the store windows when he came across a blue colored shop that stood out from the others. He walked closer and realized that it was a shop that sold all manner of historical videos and memorabilia. He went in and took a look inside, hoping to maybe learn something new about Mirinoi. It wasn't a very spaced out store, and his relatively tall frame didn't help.

Near the back of the store, a monitor caught his eye. It seemed to be playing footage of Mirinoian history. The video explained the background of Mirinoi's second Civil War nearly a millennium ago. After the first ended, not every naturally born Mirinoian was thrilled about the newfound accord with the settlers. One such Mirinoian was called Queen Keyora, a ruler from the East who fought both man and natural alike to defend the lifestyle Mirinoi had known for centuries prior. It was a brutal war, but in the end, she lost, securing a peaceful Mirinoi for centuries to come. A third Civil War was fought about 200 years prior to the present day, but the video ended after that minor tease. It then informed the viewer to purchase the full five part series to learn more.

The quick history lesson forced Carter to consider Queen's Diane's words, her talk of ramifications. He was by no means a political expert, but he began to wonder if the Rangers' good deeds had yet to be punished.

Carter returned to the housing complex the team was staying at that night. Passing by one of the rooms, he found Taylor and Ethan fiercely competing at a video game. Upon closer inspection, it looked to be some time of virtual reality aerial combat game. Walking in behind them, he could tell the pair had no clue of his return. Taylor was tightly gripping the black controls while beads of sweat dripped down from the VR helmet afixed to her head. Every movement of her virtual plane seemed to be mimicked by her body, leaning left and right, forward and back, despite such movement not making much practical difference. Ethan on the other hand was leaned back in his chair, relaxed and unphased by the heat of the moment, even though his hands and fingers were moving just as quickly as Taylor's. But then, he was forced out of his chair in alarm. His plane had been shot down. Taylor could finally let out a sigh of relief and undo her VR helmet when she realized that she had won.

"See that?" Taylor pointed to the screen while smirking at Ethan. "That's what experience looks like."

Ethan passively shook his head. "Yeah, sure, after experiencing me kicking your butt for five straight rounds. You got lucky."

"Good to see you two getting along." Carter's voice startled the pair before they turned around. "Sorry, but the next round will have to wait. We need to talk."

Taylor quickly rose from her chair. "Is there a situation?"

"Not yet, but there will be, if we don't handle the fallout from Queen Diane in just the right way. But I don't know what the right way is."

"I thought we had a solution," Ethan replied. "If Jason becomes king, no worries, right? He's kind of young, but compared to mother dearest, he'd be the second coming."

Taylor shook her head. "It's not that simple. Chances are, they're be people who want to tear the whole thing down after they learn the truth. Earth would be without a government for who knows how long. It's a recipe for disaster."

"You seem to know the most about this." Carter added.

"I studied a little political science back in college, nothing major."

"Enough to give us some much needed insight?"

"Maybe…" Taylor had to think fairly far back to her university days. "…Either of you two heard of the Glorious Revolution?"

Ethan shook his head but Carter faintly recalled the event. "England, right? 1700's…?"

"Close. Late 1600's. Long story short, they ended the absolute power of monarchs and started slowly giving power to the people. Even though their monarchy is still alive, it's considered a democratic country now."

"Ah," Ethan commented. "So that's why the Queen of England doesn't do much."

"Exactly. The royal family are all just figureheads."

Just then, Alex entered the room.

"Alex, good," Carter said. "We could use your input."

Alex walked over the the trio. "What's this all about?"

"We're starting up a revolution," Ethan replied. "Join us?"

Taylor rolled her eyes. "What he meant was, we're trying to find a way to handle the fallout. The people might not be comfortable with queens or kings after everything that witch has done."

Alex nodded. "Captain Logan has some good connections to some very important people. People that won't want anything to do with the Queen very soon. If things work out smoothly, we may be able to avoid anarchy."

"That's great," Carter replied. "Sounds like we can leave it in your hands then."

Alex nodded. "You can… I can't thank you Rangers enough for your hard work. But soon, you'll all have to return home. When that happens, it'll still be my job to keep the people of this time safe. But whatever comes, you can rely on Time Force to handle it."

Carter smiled. "I know we can."

Taylor looked less comfortable with the statement. She hid her feelings as best she could while her thoughts once again started to dwell on Eric, also known as the Time Force Quantum Ranger. It forced its way back into her mind; the memory of letting him walk away while she stood there, nervous, afraid, unable to utter a single word, and regretting every step he took further from away her that she couldn't bring herself to follow.

Later that night, Alex was able to contact Time Force and update them on everything that's happened so far. Captain Logan then worked tirelessly to set up an emergency meeting with the political contacts he had. In an effort to not incite panic among the masses, all involved parties mutually agreed to keep things on a need to know basis for the time being.

After a night of well earned rest and relaxation, the team was finally ready to head back to Earth. What awaited them however was still anyone's guess. Commander Scott volunteered to lead the team back through Terra Venture's East Gate where the Astro4 was waiting for them.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, Commander Scott." said Carter.

"Oh, don't even mention it. It was a pleasure for all of us to host the Power Rangers once more."

The Rangers waved goodbye one last time and headed down the tree paved road towards the Astro4. It was a bright and clear sky this morning. The rays of sun majestically cut through the tree branches while a gentle breeze whisked through the air. It was a magical sight, a warm feeling.

Carter walked next to Alex. "Any updates from Captain Logan?"

"Nothing yet, but he'll have a solution soon. We just need to remain patient."

"Okay. I rather not leave until I know how this all plays out, even just for some peace of mind. I'm partly to blame for everything that's happened."

"No… Looking back, blaming yourself, it helps no one. Time moves forward, and so do we. That's how we repent for our regrets. My father told me that often."

Carter chuckled a bit. "I like the saying, but time isn't so straightforward nowadays."

"Hmm… you have a point. I may need a new expression."

Kendrix looked closely at the path and came to a realization. She looked to Jason. "Hey, I think this path is the same one we took after you recruited me."

Jason started to notice it too. "I think you're right. Crazy that we can still recognize it after 1000 years. Which means that the warp vortex we took back to this time would beeee… right over this small hill." Jason pointed to a small green hill among the trees.

Kendrix turned back at the slowing fading sight of Terra Venture. When she turned back around, she started to look uncomfortable. "Jason…?"

"Hmm? Everything alright?"

"We never really talked about it, but… this mission, it's almost over. The next time I walk this path, it'll be to go back… What happens then?"

The words nailed Jason's heart like a railroad spike. He had let the reality of their situation drift away. He convinced himself after their first mission that things could only go so far. Time kept turning and those former thoughts gave way to even stronger feelings. His heart began to race, rapidly kicking away at his chest. It felt close to bursting. "Kendrix… I—"

Suddenly, an massive explosion could be seen and felt in the distance. A cloud of dense black smoke rose above a fiery backdrop of orange and red flames. The team vigilantly looked all around them as burning metallic parts started flying towards the ground.

Carter examined one of the smoking pieces. His eyes widened, recognized it as the charred remains of one of the Astro4's bridge levers. "Everyone on guard! We're under attack!"

"Freeze!" a voice from the trees cried out.

The team turned towards the sound, ready to fight. Then, a group of twenty men dressed in green and gray armor had the Rangers pinned down at gunpoint. Jason recognized them by their uniforms as an Earth-based specialized enforcer squadron under the command of Queen Diane. They were similar to the S.W.A.T. teams of ancient times. He had only ever seen them twice before, and never this close. Without hesitation, he readied his morpher.

"I don't know how you guys got all the way out here, but you'd better bring more than a handful of guys if you want to make this a fair fight for the Power Rangers."

Alex slowly approached the men with his arms up. "I don't know what this is all about, but we are not your enemies. My name is Alex. I'm a Time Force officer back on Earth. I can vouch for anything we've been falsely accused of."

A rustling in the trees. Another familiar voice called out. "That won't be necessary, Alex."

Just as soon, the number of enforcers doubled and the Rangers were completely surrounded. To make matters worse, none other than Queen Diane herself was commanding them, much to the shock of the team.

"Your first mistake was letting me live," stated Diane with a cold glare. "Your next mistake was coming to a planet that is loyal to its Queen, as it should be. I'll have to properly reward Commander Scott at a later time."

"Mother… why…?" Jason's arms began to quiver as his will to fight started to fade.

"You can't follow this woman!" cried Taylor. "She has lied and killed just to keep those who don't agree with her in line!"

"Yeah! What she said!" added Ethan.

An enforcer angrily stomped towards Taylor. "You watch your tongue when you address the Queen!" He tried to smack Taylor in the side of her face with his blaster, but Taylor ducked under the attempt and kicked him to the ground.

"You bastard." Jason got ready to morph, but Carter signaled for both him and Taylor to cool down.

"We are severely outnumbered here," Carter said. "I know how you feel, I really do, but we've already learned a valuable lesson about mistimed aggression."

Another enforcer stomped over towards Jason. "You will not morph in the presence of the Queen!"

He also tried to smack Jason with his blaster. But Jason caught the attempt with his hand. Just as soon, the rest of the blasters were pointed directly at him.

A perturbed Diane stepped got in between Jason and the enforcer. "Enough!" Diane dealt a swift punch right into the enforcer's midsection, forcing him to his knees in agony. "No harm shall come to my son. As for the rest of them, they are all traitors to the kingdom."

"We're the traitors?!" cried Carter.

"Hmph, you are whoever I need you to be. You Rangers attempted to usurp the throne in a feeble attempt for power. Treasonous enough, but then you abduct my only child and force him to risk his life doing your bidding. Unforgivable. A terrible tale, but one my people will believe."

"Mother, no!" cried Jason. "This was my choice! You know that! I'll tell everyone the truth, one way or another!"

Diane sighed. "Oh Jason, I'd rather you not have to see what will become of your so called friends. So, I'll simply send you home." Diane pushed a button on her wrist. A tiny box-shaped device dropped onto the floor and started manifesting a Stargate. Diane pushed another button and activated it.

"You can't do this!" cried Jason. "If you really want to protect me, then please, save them! You can't hurt them without hurting me too!"

Diane's cold, uncompromising expression held strong, unmoved by Jason's pleas. She motioned her hands towards a pair of enforcers who forced Jason to move forward towards the Stargate. "A few sessions of memory acclimation should do the trick. I'll be making sure that even the faintest remembrance of your spandex-laden escapade is stripped clean. Allowing you to take part in this was my mistake. And for that, I apologize."

Jason's entire body felt weakened by the words. He looked back at his team with misty eyes. "No… I can't forget… I won't!"

"Jason…" Kendrix' resolve did not fade. "Please, stay strong for us."

Carter looked to Taylor and motioned his eyes towards the Stargate. Taylor carefully nodded as both slowly placed their hands behind their back, ready to morph when the time was right. But before they could, a small, dark tear in the air was starting to expand just over the small green hill. As the rift continued to grow, the entire group could feel its gravitational pull tugging at them.

"What in the…?" Diane stared upon the rift in disbelief. But she refocused herself and pointed at one of the enforcers. "You! Investigate the matter!"

"Yes, My Queen!" The enforcer moved in closer to the newly formed rift. The continual pull became too much for him to resist, as his feet grinded against the grass below his feet. "N-No! Please help! It's pulling me in!"

"Chronic storm, Ranger form!" Carter instinctively morphed and jumped in to grab hold on the enforcer. "I've got you!"

The rift grew larger, and moved in closer to the group. Tree branches, dirt, and rocks started ripping from the ground and falling victim to the rift. The Stargate apparatus started to chip and break away as well, sucked into the rift as if magnetically attracted. Carter's grip was slipping, and before he knew it, the enforcer left his hands and was forced into the rift, vanishing from this reality. Soon, the Stargate apparatus collapsed completely, leaving the portal to be consumed by the rift. The others tried to escape, but the gravitational pull became too strong.

Jason tried to use his aura to hold on to the ground and counter the force, but a tree that was yanked from its roots started to hurdle towards him. "Crap…!"

Taylor saw the tree moving towards Jason and moved quickly. "Chronic Storm, Ranger form!" She morphed while using the gravitational force to speed herself up en route to his position before lunging at the tree shoulder first, knocking it off its trajectory, forcing it to miss Jason completely and violently enter the newly formed rift.

"Taylor!" Jason grabbed her arm before she could be pulled in. "That was otherworldly awesome!"

However, his grip was starting to loosen.

"Thanks, kid… But I don't think it'll make much of a difference."

Enforcer after enforcer was starting to be pulled in with Diane and Alex soon following. The Rangers were all starting to lose their grip on the ground and were lifted into the air.

"It's pulling us in! Hold on guys!" cried Carter.

"Where will it take us!?" asked Ethan.

But before a theory could be postulated, all had been engulfed by the vortex and were sent hurdling through time and space. Just as fast as it had happened, it was over. All of Diane's enforcers, Queen Diane herself, the Rangers, and Alex, had all been transported elsewhere.

Jason started to come to and lift himself from the ground beneath him. He took a look around at the vibrant forest surrounding him. "Wait a sec… this doesn't really look that different…" He then picked himself up to check on the others. "Guys, get up, I think we're still on Mirinoi."

Ethan got up rubbing his head and looked around. "Ugh… It sure looks like Mirinoi. So all that build up was for nothing?"

Jason helped Kendrix up who immediately recognized the far more familiar Terra Venture skyline in the distance. "No, it did do something." She pointed out towards the tallest building. "I think we've been transported back to the year 2000."


	7. Moves

**Chapter 16: Moves**

Moments before the rift breached the time barriers between the two Mirinoi's, Kai and Maya were taking a walk together through the forest surroundings. At this point in time, they had only recently returned home after assisting Chronic Storm against Axis and the Resistance. And afterwards, Kai had asked Maya if they could take a casual stroll together. The request caught Maya off guard at first. She wasn't used to Kai asking her for any kind of alone time. More recently, she had gotten used to him acting a bit unlike himself whenever she was around and the others weren't. But she happily accepted anyways.

As they walked through the vast Mirinoi forest, the sun broke through the clouds to warmly welcome them. Maya put on a wide smile, even now, still enraptured by the majesty of her home. "What a beautiful day for a walk."

"Yes. It's a beautiful day." Kai replied in a stiffer fashion than his normal brand of stiffness.

Maya could once again sense Kai's uneasiness. "Kai… did I do something wrong?"

Kai looked back at her, caught off guard by the comment. "What? No, of course not."

"Even now, I'm still getting used to the way humans operate. But I can tell something's bothering you. Something about me."

Kai stopped his walking and nodded. "I'm sorry about that. It's just… hard."

"What is?"

Kai took a deep breath before continuing, "Maya… I really—"

Suddenly, a strange sound could be heard from somewhere in the woods. Maya quickly cupped her ear with her hand to listen in. "You heard that too, right?"

"Where's it coming from?"

Maya's head started to turn before she got a lock on the sound. She pointed further down the path. "I think it's coming from over there."

"Right. Let's check it out."

Maya raced ahead with Kai quickly following until the pair approached an ever growing dark rift tearing through the air and spitting out tiny rocks, leaves, and tree branches.

"What is it?" asked Maya.

"It looks like kind of like a time a portal." Kai replied.

Maya smiled excitedly. "Kendrix is coming home?"

A single man was then spit out of the rift and took a violent tumble onto the ground. The enforcer picked himself up gripping tightly to his shoulder, looking to be in a great deal of pain.

Maya immediately raced over to the man to help him to his feet.

"Wha… where am I?" asked the man, still a bit groggy from his temporal journey.

Kai came in to check on him as well. "You're on Mirinoi."

"Are you alright?" asked Maya.

"Mirinoi…?" The man looked every which way. "Where's the rest of my men? And the Queen? And the Rangers?"

"Try to calm down," Kai said. "You must have been transported here from the future if you know about the Queen. Although, you don't seem here by choice."

The enforcer tried to walk forward, but his right leg was also writhing in pain. "GAH! My leg…"

Maya carried him by his side to help take pressure off of his right leg. "Don't worry, we'll get you looked at. We've still got some good doctors in this time too."

"I'll call in to let them know to expect a patient," Kai added. "And tell the others that we may have a problem."

The pair continued towards Terra Venture while the growing rift continued to spit out larger rocks, larger branches, and even an entire tree. Moments later, the rift spit out the remainder of Queen Diane's enforcers, Diane herself, as well as Alex and the Rangers.

Jason started to come to and lift himself from the ground beneath him. He took a look around at the vibrant forest surrounding him. "Wait a sec… this doesn't really look that different…" He then picked himself up to check on the others. "Guys, get up, I think we're still on Mirinoi."

Ethan got up rubbing his head and looked around. "Ugh… It sure looks like Mirinoi. So all that build up was for nothing?"

Jason helped Kendrix up who immediately recognized the far more familiar Terra Venture skyline in the distance. "No, it did do something." She pointed out towards the tallest building. "I think we've been transported back to the year 2000."

"No!" Diane cried as she forced herself back on her feet. "How could this have happened…!? Hmm, no matter. Until such a time as I can properly arrest all of you in the year 2990, you'll just have to make due with being arrested here."

Her enforcers, still groggy from the trip through time, were all collectively catching their breath and rubbing the throbbing pain from out of their heads.

"Ahem!" Diane stated forcefully. "In case I wasn't explicitly clear, arrest them all!"

The enforcers quickly stood at attention before preparing their blasters and locking them onto the team.

"How are you even here?" Alex demanded. "We locked you away."

"Hmm, and who do you believe funded those 'locks'?" Diane replied. "Even under the guise of independence, Verinox 12 will always recognize their Queen. As will all resistance, with time. If you Rangers really wanted me punished, you should have done it yourself. Instead, your weakness will be your—"

Just then, a group of enforcers were struck down from the backlines. Then, another line went down in agony. Diane's eyes darted around in every direction. Just as soon, Leo, Kai, Damon, Maya, and Karone all stood next to the Chronic Storm team with Quasar Sabers in hand.

"Hey guys," Leo said. "Looks like you could use a bit of backup."

The remaining enforcers looked hesitant to strike after seeing their comrades knocked around so easily.

"What's with the hesitation?" asked Diane. "Detain those criminals by any means necessary! Kill them, if needs be."

Kendrix smiled and nodded at her old teammates. "It's good to be home."

"Alright everyone, together," Carter stated. "Ready?"

"Ready!" replied the other Rangers in unison.

"Go, Galactic!" The Galaxy Rangers morphed into Ranger form.

"Chronic Storm, Ranger form!" The Chronic Storm Rangers followed suit.

The enforcers unleashed a bevy of blaster rounds upon both teams. The Galaxy Rangers stayed in front and used their Quasar Sabers to deflect and repel the blasts. Then, they ducked down, allowing the Chronic Storm team to unleash their own blaster rounds upon the enforcers. The Rangers, and even Alex who found himself getting into the action, were cognizant of holding back their power so as to not fatally injure any of the enforcers.

It was quickly evident that Diane's forces were no match for two teams of Rangers. A frustrated Diane started to make her way into the fray, only to be held up by Jason. The sight of him in that green and black outfit only served to further infuriate her.

"You have to stop this!" Jason pleaded. "We don't even know how to get back to our own time! Fighting won't achieve you anything here! Mother, please!"

While trying to reason with his mother, a blaster round caught Jason square in the shoulder. "Gaaaah!" he cried out in anguish.

Diane was stricken by fear at the sight. She then intensely stared down the enforcer who took the shot. Diane clenched her fist and started emitting sparks of electricity from out of her specialized gloves all while keeping her nerve-shattering gaze upon the enforcer.

The enforcer dropped his blaster upon the ground while his arms quivered in fear. "M-My Queen, I d-didn't mean it, I swear! I swear!"

Diane discharged her gloves and walked toward him. "I can recognize an honest mistake when I see one." She offered her hand to help him up.

"Oh, thank you, My Queen!"

Diane then avoided his hand and grabbed the enforcer's face, tightening her grip around his nose and mouth. While he struggled to breath, Diane riddled his entire frame with electricity, not letting up until every inch of his person was charred under the heat of the surge.

Jason looked on as a cold shiver crept down his person. The despicable act was only made harder to bear by her eyes, eyes void of compassion, regret, remorse. The eyes that raised Jason almost single-handedly were gone; replaced by a darker, sinister look that he could not recognize.

"For example, sympathy was once a mistake I made," Diane said as she tossed the enforcer aside. "I have since learned from it."

The other enforcers still standing began to stop fighting, frozen with fear after what they all beared witness to.

Jason's head dropped in defeat. "You… you're a monster…"

The other Rangers began to surround Diane.

"End of the line." Carter stated.

Taylor loaded up her blaster. "Don't make me shoot you, because I really want to."

Diane calmly looked around before powering up her electrical gloves again and firing the resulting surge into and around the ground in front of her, buffeting the Rangers and several of her remaining enforcers. The group reeled back from the flash of light. As their sense returned, Diane had vanished.

"Man, she got away." said Damon.

"She'll be back, you can count on that," replied Carter. "In the meantime, we need to find a way to reactivate the portal that brought us here and get back to 2990."

"Let's head back to Terra Venture," Kai added. "We must have something that can help at least explain all of this."

"I like the plan, but…" Ethan added while turning his head to look back at the enforcers still looming.

The remaining enforcers either helped each other up or just stood around, trying to make sense of the fate that just befell them.

"Rangers," one enforcer broke the silence. "I don't believe there's anything to gain from continuing to fight each other. What should have been clear to us before is hella clear now."

"Better late than never." Taylor replied.

"Follow us," Kendrix added. "You all need to get home too."

One of the enforcers carefully approached Taylor. "Sorry about that hit before, miss."

" _Attempted_ hit," corrected Taylor. "And I'll get over it."

The Rangers powered down and headed to Terra Venture with the hope of figuring out and fixing their current situation. Chronic Storm was then introduced to Commander Stanton, the man who helped lead Terra Venture all the way to Mirinoi back when it was still simply called "The New World." After all this time away from home, Kendrix looked almost relieved to see so many familiar people, consoles, and hallways again. Almost, because she felt the need to store those feelings until they could find a solution to their sizable problem, as well as deal with Queen Diane, wherever she might be.

After explaining the situation to Stanton, he was surprisingly accepting of the time travel narrative presented to him, and willing to help. The teams were then lead to the science division, Kendrix' old workstation, in an effort to search for solutions.

"This area is all yours for whatever resources you may need." said Stanton.

"Thank you, sir," Carter replied. "Hopefully it won't be too long. Ethan, think you can figure all of this out?"

Ethan's eyes widened as he started at Carter. "Uhhh, look, I may be a geek, but I'm no Stephen Hawkings. Where I come from, everything that just happened, whatever happened, is still science fiction."

Kai walked around the room thinking through the situation before coming up with an idea. "The Galaxy Book!"

"That's it!" Leo replied. "There's all kinds of crazy stuff in there."

"The Galaxy Book…?" asked a confused Taylor.

Kai perused through a book shelf and picked out an sizable brown text. "A spell from this book is what brought us to the Lost Galaxy almost a year ago. We still haven't even begun piecing together all of its secrets, but we know it can create rifts in space."

"And time?" asked Carter.

"We'll find out." Kai handed the Galaxy Book to Ethan. "You may not be Hawkings, but it sounds like you're the best chance we've got at figuring this out."

Ethan looked through the book, his eyes immediately widening again as he gazed upon the foreign language. "Okay what…?"

Kendrix walked up to a computer and uploaded a program. "I was able to translate most of the Galaxy Book's text. You should be able to use this program to figure out the rest."

Ethan took a deep breath. "I'll do what I can, but now magic is real, apparently, so…"

"I can help from my workstation, assuming I haven't been replaced yet."

Commander Stanton chuckled. "Not a chance, Miss Morgan."

"We're counting on you two." Carter stated.

"In the meantime," Kai added, "you'll need to catch us up a bit on why we were fighting those armored soldiers from the future and why you guys were being arrested."

Carter nodded and began explaining the larger details of everything that had happened to them since Kendrix was recruited. It was an arduous retelling to sit through for all involved. Carter soon reached the deeper, darker details of Queen Diane. Kendrix immediately stopped her work to look back at Jason. He was holding it all in again, she noticed, trying his best to keep everything he was feeling under the tightest of wraps. His focus presently was to avoid weighing the team down, regardless of cost.

Carter finished the last few details of the story to this point, "Once she had escaped lockdown, her enforcers were on us. And then, the temporal rift brought us here. That about sums it up."

The room remained silent for a while. Only the clacking of keyboards and the beeping of workstation indicators could be heard. The Galaxy Rangers were still trying to take in everything they had heard before Kai finally broke the silence. "We can't let her get away with this. Any of this."

Leo turned to Jason. "Jason, I can't even imagine what you're going through right now. But all of us are here for you."

Everyone else turned to Jason to deliver a nod of encouragement and support.

Jason waved off the sympathy. "Guys, thanks, but I'm fine… I realize now that the woman that used to be my mother… she no longer exists. We have to do whatever it takes to stop her or more people and planets will suffer. That's all we can afford to focus on right now."

"No, it isn't." Karone replied.

Jason turned to her.

"Take it from someone who knows a lot about world shattering reveals… you have to confront it head on, or you'll never really be free. If you run, like I tried to do, it'll only follow you."

Jason slowly recalled Karone's dark past from the Ranger archives. She was once known as Astronema, the Princess of Evil who sought to destroy the Space Rangers. But in time, she choose good, choose to leave her past where it belonged. Jason understood her words, but he couldn't allow himself to fully accept them.

"Well, first things first," Damon said. "We need to track her down, somehow. We have no idea where she went."

Leo turned to Maya. "Any chance those big ears of yours can find her?"

Maya shook her head. "I tried before… but it's much harder to hear a cold heart. Especially one that doesn't wish to be found." Just as soon, an idea struck Maya. "Let's call upon the Galactabeasts for help! With them working with us, there won't be anywhere she can hide here."

"Galactabeasts…?" Taylor inquired. "Those are your giant Zords, I'm assuming?"

"Sometimes," Maya replied. "But most of the time, they are living creatures, just like you and me."

"Good idea Maya," Carter replied. "We'll track her down in no—"

Just then, a siren started to blare all throughout Terra Venture.

"Typical." said Taylor.

"Let's get moving." added Carter.

Ethan rose from his seat. "Guess this'll have to wait."

"We'll have some of our own keep working on the Galaxy book," replied Stanton. "You Ranger have a job to do."

Kendrix nodded. "Thank you, Commander."

The Rangers, and Alex, all rushed outside to bear witness to hordes of people running to escape a most horrifying scene: a nearby building was up in flames with dark smoke puffing out from the top. Just as soon, a second building adjacent to it started to become surrounded in a white net of electricity before an explosion sent broken window shards flying and hot chunks of metal soaring. Before long, it became cloaked in the same flame.

"What's going on here!?" Kai asked.

Jason stared painfully at the familiar sparks of lightning while trying to keep his emotions in check. "It has to be her. She's using her electrical powers to blown up whole buildings."

Carter turned to Leo. "Leo, this is your turf. What's the call?"

Leo nodded. "We need to get everyone here to safety. My team can handle that. You guys know Diane best. Go after her and we'll be right behind you."

"Got it." Carter turned to Alex. "Think you can help with evac?"

Alex nodded. "It'll be tough with just six of us, but it'll get done."

Just then, a group of enforcers entered the scene, the leader of whom saluted the Rangers. "My men and I are ready to lend our support. We've run training simulations like these countless times."

"Thank you, sir." replied Carter.

"Yeah, thanks," added Leo. "Then let's get to it. Ready guys?"

"Ready!" cried the other Rangers.

"Go, Galactic!"

"Chronic Storm, Ranger form!"

The ten Rangers all morphed into battle mode. The Galaxy Rangers, alongside Alex and the enforcers from the future, all took to aiding the civilians.

From out of the corner of her helmet visor, Kendrix' heads up display was drawing her attention towards a lightning surge. "Guys, I think I saw something over there."

"Let's end this." replied Taylor.

"I'm gonna need another vacation soon." added Ethan.

The Chronic Storm Rangers started to follow Kendrix towards another building. They noticed another crackle of lightning followed closely by panicking civilians looking to escape the area. As they turned the corner, they noticed an open door still in motion. Diane had to be inside.

As they carefully approached the door, the Rangers received a communication from Leo. "Carter, you were a firefighter, right?"

"Yeah."

"We've got people trapped inside these buildings. Some of the emergency extinguishers aren't working and we need a safe way to get them out."

"I'm on my way." Carter looked to the others. "Stay alert, everyone. I'll be back soon with the calvary."

"We got it. Go." replied Taylor.

Carter quickly departed the scene while the remaining four Rangers carefully opened up the building door. Once inside, they quickly realized it was some type of factory. It was by no means abandoned, but a quick heat scan by Kendrix confirmed that it had been successfully evacuated. Only a single signature could be found, one that was fastly approaching the roof.

"She's headed up the stairs." Kendrix said.

"Then we got her," Ethan replied. "Unless she dabbles in skydiving. She doesn't, right?"

"I don't know what that is." Jason said.

"Focus," Taylor stated firmly. "She has to be leading us up there for a reason."

"It could be a trap." replied Kendrix.

"Should we wait for the cavalry?" Ethan asked.

Taylor took a few moments to consider their options. "I say we take her as we are. Any objections?"

No one voiced any concerns and the team trekked onwards, elevating up the facility stairs until they reached the door that lead directly to the roof. Taylor motioned the others to hold their positions while Kendrix quickly scanned the perimeter once more.

"She right in front of us." Kendrix said.

"Okay." Taylor pulled out her Chronic Blaster. "Don't even give her a second to breathe."

Ethan and Kendrix followed suit, locking and loading their blasters. Jason pulled out his a little slower, his gaze holding to it while he tried to focus his mind.

His hesitation was not lost on Taylor. "Kid, if you're not up for this—"

"No…! No, I'm ready."

Taylor hesitated to make another command. She saw Jason start to calm down, his eyes clearly focused on the task ahead behind that tinted visor. She believed in what she saw. He had come so far. He was ready. "Alright… let's go!"

Taylor bursted through the door with the others closely following. They had their blasters ready to fire, but all that laid in front of them was a peculiar metallic pole radiating heat from its surface.

"Huh?" Ethan asked. "What is that?"

Kendrix ran another scan on her morpher, but oddly enough, the heat signature the pole exuded matched with that of a normal life form. "Strange… I've never seen the morpher glitch before."

"It's no glitch." From behind the roof door, Diane emerged with electricity crackling around her hands. She fired upon an unsuspecting Ethan, striking his backside and sending him careening to the ground. He was quickly forced out of Ranger mode, revealing a sizable black burn mark draped across his backside that cut through his uniform.

"Ethan!" Jason cried as the others ran towards him.

Ethan's breathing was labored and he couldn't bring himself to utter a single word. He needed medical attention and he needed in quickly. What's more, the Ranger suits didn't come equipped with much in the way of first aid.

Diane launched another electric attack aimed for Taylor, but Taylor quickly activated the electrical powers of her morpher and countered the surge.

Diane couldn't help but smirk a little. "I had nearly forgotten I added that feature. The only thing those damned Triforians ever contributed to the kingdom. However…" Diane now powered up her electricity with both hands and launched it at Taylor.

Jason quickly got in front of Taylor. Diane's heart stopped for just a moment as she watched her son prepare to take the strike head on. She knew she could not stop it now. Jason then focused his aura into his fist and punched away the electrical surge, sending it upwards towards the clouds.

"You have to be stopped… whatever the cost!"

"Jason, my son… Could you really bring yourself to attack your own mother? What do you owe these freaks when it was I who dedicated my life to raising you and bringing you up as a proper man?"

Kendrix and Taylor both stood next to Jason to face her down.

"No!" stated Jason coldly. "Keep every lie you've ever sold me about _my_ protection or doing things for _my_ benefit! These 'freaks' are my family. I owe more to them than I could ever dream of repaying. They made me into a real man while you kept me locked away, letting me pretend to be one. Somewhere along the way, you forgot what family means. But whatever the time, whatever the place, I never will."

Diane stood perturbed by his resolve.

"Not bad, kid," Taylor replied. "But we'll need to make this quick if we're gonna save Ethan. You go left. Kendrix, go right."

"Got it." Kendrix and Jason replied together.

The trio charged towards Diane with blasters in hand.

"Hmph. So be it." Diane got into a fighting stance and started shooting electricity once more.

The trio managed to dodge the lightning barrages while closing in on Diane's position. Once they were close enough, they swarmed her with their own firepower. Diane used her armor to shield her face as the blaster rounds bounced right off. The trio got in close and started to throw punches and kicks at Diane, but her surprisingly quick feet and swift movements made landing a clean blow a trying task. She evaded, juked, and blocked before surprising Taylor with a swift knee to the gut followed up by a kick to her helmet that flung her across the roof.

"Taylor!" Jason cried.

Taylor struggled to pick herself up. "Stay… focused… kid!"

Jason's focus returned to the fight at hand. Kendrix nodded at him and he nodded back. They proceeded to attacking Diane from the left and from the right. As she evaded their blows, Jason and Kendrix kept darting and moving around, avoiding her lightning blasts and keeping her off balance. Soon, they were close enough to engage in hand to hand combat again, but Diane grabbed Kendrix' arm and flung her away. Then, she grabbed hold of Jason's arms before he could mount another attack.

"You'd be wise to not underestimate my fighting skills. There is no morpher in existence that can stand against years of practice."

Jason kicked her grip away while Kendrix and Taylor got back on their feet. The trio tried the same tactic again, but this time, when they were within range for hand to hand combat, Jason faked a punch which allowed Kendrix to land a kick from behind him after he ducked out of the way. And in doing so, they knocked Diane back. As she reeled, Taylor followed up from behind with a punch that landed squarely on her jaw. The Rangers didn't let up and kept coming after Diane while attacking from different directions, each time with a new wrinkle to keep Diane guessing. Taylor even leapt into the air to use the glare of the sun to cripple Diane's vision. Jason and Kendrix then followed up with a double kick straight into Diane's midsection.

Diane found herself short of breath for the first time in many months. Her once flat and controlled expression was becoming more fury filled with each passing breathe. "That's it, enough games!" Diane started charging up her lightning again, but this time, it began to surrounded her entire body. The most devastating move in her electric arsenal was now in play.

"Crap, not that again," Jason said as he gazed helplessly into the unrelenting eyes of Queen Diane while she slowly crept forward. He could feel her glare cutting through to his soul, weakening his resolve yet again. "Those eyes… they're like nothing I've ever seen before…"

Taylor quickly grabbed him by the helmet and shook it. "You are NOT quitting on me right now!"

Diane saw her chance and aimed her electricity directly at Taylor. Taylor quickly turned around, got in front of Jason, and blocked the surge with her arms. But the volts kept pumping through her body. She could barely open her eyes while she grieved in pain, but she managed to force them open and started slowly walking towards Diane while cloaked in a veil of lightning. Her heads up display was flashing red with all manner of warnings and alerts, but each was disregarded. Taylor began picking up her pace and started jogging towards Diane, then running through the electrocution.

Jason and Kendrix stood in awe of her will power, but regained focus and tried to fire blaster rounds at Diane. The blasters were ineffective against her electrical barrier, but they provided just enough of a distraction to keep Diane in place while Taylor continued to push forward. Diane's eyes continued to widen as a grunting, screaming Taylor charged faster and faster through the pain. She inched closer and closer until Taylor managed to tackled Diane and viciously slam her to the ground.

An exasperated Taylor was forced to demorph while she stared upon the face of an unconscious queen. She wanted to say something seething and insulting, but she hadn't the lung capacity to do so. Instead, she collapsed on the floor next to her while she took deep breaths in and out.

Jason and Kendrix rushed over to her to help her up. After a few steps with support, Taylor patted them both on the back and started to gingerly walk on her own again. "I'll… be fine… let's get… Ethan… out of here." Taylor continued to limp forward with a ripped uniform and a blood stained face.

"Okay, I'll handle Diane." Kendrix said as she turned towards her.

Jason started to walk over to help Taylor while she was checking on Ethan, only to see a red beam quickly zip by the right side of his face. He could only perceive it for a moment, as fear began to circulate throughout his body. Taylor's backside was struck by the laser, a shot that dug through her insides and blasted out from the other side. Taylor started coughing up blood while she applied pressure onto her fresh wound before collapsing on the ground right next to Ethan.

Kendrix then noticed the blaster in Diane's hand and tried to kick it away. But Diane quickly swept her legs and kicked her back. It was clear now that she was merely feigning her incapacitated state. Jason looked around at all of his teammates with tears running down his helmet-covered face. He felt to blame. He felt he was letting them all down again. The visor was starting to fog up a bit, clouding his vision before the helmet's inbuilt system's cleared the fog away. In that moment of sorrow, of anger, of once again feeling powerless, he was struck with an idea.

While the team tried to fend of Diane, Carter and the Galaxy Rangers were trying to clear the streets and save as many people as possible. However, there was an entire floor of people that were trapped inside one of the burning buildings. While Alex and the enforcers lead the rescued people to safety, Carter and the Galaxy Rangers took to the building.

Carter's heads up display calculated the ideal path towards the trapped people, while also informing him of which doors would be bad to open, lest the fire meet oxygen and potentially take down the entire construct. It had been a little while, but Carter's old instincts were coming back to him as he quickly navigated the burning hallway with the Galaxy Rangers close behind.

Carter then approached a closed door. His heads up display was informing him that it was the best way up, but his instincts told him that there was enough oxygen in the hallway to cause the flames to leap out. "No… if it spread, the whole door could come down."

"Carter, I've got an idea," Leo said. "Does fighting fire with fire actually work?"

"Yeah, it can. It's hard to explain right now, but can you do it?"

"Yeah, it came with the suit." Leo lined up in front of the door and placed his hands together in front of his chest. From out of his hands manifested a flame that he launched at the door. As Carter feared, the flames trapped inside the room tried to escape, but Leo's flames ate away at the oxygen before they could cause more damage. "Did it work?"

"You did it, Leo." Carter replied.

"What's next?" Kai asked.

Carter turned his gaze upwards. "Up the stairs and down this hallway here. We've got to watch the structural integrity."

The Rangers rushed up the heated stairs and made it to the floor that the trapped people were on. They could now see that a burning metal beam was keeping the people at bay. Carter's head up display gave him the quick details. "Titanium beams. Class D fire."

"Can we burn this one away too?" asked Karone.

"No, we would need a dry powder fire extinguisher, which my suit does not have. We'll have to fight this fire in a more traditional way."

"What does that mean?" asked Damon.

Carter rushed through the hallway, making sure to avoid the soft spots. He realized he could tell where the weak points in the floor were before even his heads up display could warn him of them. Then he leapt over the steel beam and made it to the trapped group of people. Two children and three adults.

"Everything's going to be okay."

"Save our kids first, please!" cried a mother of one of the children.

Carter nodded and looked back at the beam. He thought quickly through his options. Destroying the beam would be an extremely risky move. The building could collapse. But the other side of the hallways was blocked off completely by a wall of fire that the firefighters outside the building couldn't reach. A bead of sweat started to roll down Carter's forehead while his mind continued to race. And then, the second the bead of sweat hit his eye, it came to him. That was the first bit of perspiration he experienced since coming in. His Ranger suit was every firefighter's dream. He had an idea.

"Everyone, listen up! We're going to make it through this but you all need to listen closely. We're all going to clear that burning beam over there, one by one."

"Are you out of your mind!?" cried one of the male adults.

Carter demorphed and removed his morpher from his wrist. "You've all been picked to become honorary Power Rangers. This morpher will protect you from the flames but you've got to be willing to make that jump."

The people all traded panicked stares at each other. A middle aged man that didn't seem connected to anyone else present stepped up. "I'll do it."

Carter gave him the morpher and pushed the morphing sequence button for him. Just as soon, he was transformed into the Red Ranger. The man stared all around and his new suit with speechless exasperation.

Carter placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "All you have to do is run, jump, press that button again, and then have one of the others toss the morpher back."

The man nodded and ran towards the metal beam. He winced a bit as he got closer to the beam before closing his eyes completely. He cleared the beam with eyes still closed before tripping on the floor below. "Ugh… made… it…"

"Great job!" Leo ran up to him as he demorphed and acquired Carter's morpher. "Carter, heads up!"

Leo tossed the morphr over the beam and Carter caught it. "Alright, who's next?"

One of the children, a young boy no older then 10, quickly raised his hand. "Mister Ranger, will it fit?"

"I don't know how, but they always do."

Carter attached the morpher to the kid and pressed the morpher button. Just as soon, the child morphed up into a miniature Red Ranger.

He then looked back at his mother who wore a smile on her face. "It's okay, mommy will be right behind you. You're so brave."

The kid then looked back at the beam and started running. He stumbled a bit, but didn't stop. Then, he just barely cleared the metal beam.

Maya was ready and waiting for him on the other side. "We got him."

After Maya threw the morpher back to Carter, the boy's mother joined him and Maya accompanied both out of the building. The plan was working, but when Carter turned around, he witnessed the last child, another boy around 8 years old, screaming and crying while his father was trying to get him to settle down.

"Sir, we don't have time for this. Go first and I'll get your son out of here. Trust me."

"B-But…" The father looked back and forth from the fire and back to his teary-eyed son before Carter slapped the morpher on him and pushed the button.

"Go."

The father nodded before leaping over the beam and quickly demorphing to converse time. Kai secure him and tossed the morpher back to Carter. Just one more remained, but Carter could sense the roof above them growing weaker and the fire growing stronger. He turned to the crying child and bent down on one knee with morpher in hand. "Hey, I know you're scared. I was too. I was trapped in a burning building just like this when I was about your age. But you don't have to be afraid." Carter placed the morpher on his wrist. "Because with this, you can be a superhero. And there's nothing a superhero can't do, right?"

The child's crying started to die down as he starred upon the morpher on his wrist. But then a flame sparked up near them. Carter instinctively got in front of the child. His black Chronic storm uniform could withstand most of the burn, but he still felt the sweltering heat bearing down upon them as the oxygen continued to be depleted. The child couldn't help but scream louder, taking in a dangerous amount of smoke, causing him to cough uncontrollably before started to fade in and out of consciousness.

"Hey, you have to stay with me!"

Carter pushed the morphing button and the kid was transformed. But he wasn't moving. Carter then picked up the kid and looked towards the beam. He then nodded to himself as he ran through the flames unmorphed and hurdled over the beam with the kid in his arms. He could feel himself landing on a weak portion of the floor and quickly threw the kid towards his father, who managed to catch him. Then, the floor below Carter started to give way, but then Damon swooped in and grabbed him before he could fall down.

The Rangers made it out of the burning building just as the firefighters outside were starting to get a handle on things. Carter exited the building coughing up a storm before an on site medic got him an oxygen mask.

Leo and Damon tried to help him to walk, but he picked himself up to check on the kid he saved. As the kid demorphed, he found himself conscious again, and no longer coughing. A useful side effect of the Chronic Storm suits was the expulsion of harmful toxins. As he looked at the morpher on his wrist with a look of confusion. "What… happened?"

Carter smiled upon seeing him in better shape. "You don't remember? You became the Red Ranger and saved me. I can't thank you enough."

The kid turned to Carter with mouth firmly agape.

"You're a hero, kid. Just don't let it go to your head."

The kid nodded, smiled, and looked to his teary-eyed father. "Dad! Wait till the kids at school hear this! I can tell'em, right?"

The dad laughed. "Of course, son." He turned to Carter. "I… don't have the words for what this means."

Carter nodded as the kid handed him back his morpher. Carter slapped it back on his wrist and morphed up again. "All part of the job, sir. Take care of yourselves." Carter then turned around and raced towards where the rest of his team were fighting.

Meanwhile, Jason had just come up with a plan for defeating Diane. He rushed to Kendrix to help her up. "Kendrix, I have an idea. I need you to trust me on this one."

"I trust you."

Jason quickly ran the plan by her. Kendrix nodded and they both refocused on Diane.

Diane once again built up a veil of electricity and started to aggressively charge the pair. "Now, experience what true suffering feels like!"

"Here goes." Jason strained the entirety of his body to call upon his green aura. As it surrounded his frame, he went in for a punch on Diane.

Diane quickly avoided the punch and struck back with one of her own straight to Jason's shoulder. "I know what kind of strain that power puts on your body. Your trick has its limits."

Jason kept trying to land blow after blow, but Diane was easily dodging everything he could throw. _Damn, she's right. I'm stronger now, but she's still way quicker without all of that Axl armor_.

"Hmph, power is wasted when you can't control it—" Before she could launch another attack, Diane's eyes darted back and forth. "I've lost track of the Pink Ranger. Where could she have—"

Jason used her distracted state to charge forward again, but this time, he smashed the roof just underneath Diane, collapsing the floor and sending them crashing down into an empty top floor office space. Kendrix was awaiting them, already in position behind where Diane would fall. The second they both landed, Kendrix used her blaster at close range to stun Diane, leaving her fully paralyzed.

It didn't take long for Diane to realize she had been played. "N… No…! Wha… what have you done to me?!" She struggled to move, but could not shake the stun.

"Nothing serious," Kendrix replied. "You just won't be able to move for a little bit."

Jason, still with his green aura intact, concentrated his energy into his fist while walking towards Diane. Every step proved taxing as his aura powers gradually drained him of strength, but he did not stop until he stood face to face with Diane. "You're… not my mother anymore. You're just another one of those psychopaths that keep me up and night!"

Diane wore a terrified look as her face quivered and shook. "P-Please, I beg of you my son! Show mercy on me!"

"Mercy!?" Jason cried. "Is that what you're asking for? Did you have mercy when you tried to have my team killed!? Or when you ended billions of lives!?"

Kendrix looked on, unsure of what to do or say.

Jason cocked his glowing fist back. "Now… I have the power."

All Diane could do was sit there on her knees, languishing in a feeling she had not genuinely felt in years: helplessness. She had fought to amass power for so long, toiled for so many years, all to escape this dreaded feeling, to rise above it for as long as she may live. But in the end, in the twilight of her life, it was there to greet here once more, forcing her to relive the nightmares one last time.

Kendrix had seen enough and ran to hold back Jason's arm. "Jason…! Please… don't… I know what she did, to you, to us, to so so many people… but you are not her. You never will be."

Jason's fist shook in frustration knowing that Kendrix was right. After a few more moment of frustration, he slowly let his fist fall to his side.

"She's caused enough pain," Kendrix added. "We shouldn't have to cause anymore."

Diane let out an exasperated breath of relief. She could hardly believe she was still in one piece.

Jason took a deep breath to calm himself down. "You'll pay for every life you've taken and every life you've threatened." He turned around and looked upwards. "Let's go grab Taylor and Ethan. We need to hur—"

Suddenly, from out of the blue, Jason's backside was caught in a flash of lightning. He was forcibly unmorphed as his body crashed upon the floor just as Kendrix was turning back around.

"JASON! NOOO!" cried Kendrix as she tried to pick up his unconscious body. She pushed a button a button on her morpher that phased her helmet away while she desperately tried shaking Jason awake. But Jason was unresponsive.

"Hmph, such weakness." Diane had overcome her paralysis sooner than anticipated and was back on her feet. "To think that I raised a son to be so soft, it's pathetic."

"Jason, please wake up, please!" Kendrix continued to panic while Jason laid unresponsive in her arms. "Jason, you have to be okay…! You just have to be…"

"And then there was one." Diane wore a slight smirk as she stalked down Kendrix. "Seems almost unfair that it would come down to me versus the weakest member of this team."

Kendrix gently kissed Jason on the forehead before slowly rising up to confront Diane.

Diane became annoyed by her unrelenting expression. "Wipe that determined look off your face. You and I both know there's no hope for you here."

But her look did not waver. Kendrix began walking towards Diane with a fire in her eyes not known to many. "I know I'm not stronger than you. I wasn't even strong enough to keep the people I love safe… But no more." Kendrix pushed a button on her morpher and her pink helmet phased back onto her head. "Even if it costs me my life, I'm ready to give it up to protect my home and my friends from people like you!"

Diane scoffed at her words before quickly darting side to side. She moved in front of Kendrix and punched her in the stomach. Diane followed up with a roundhouse kick, but Kendrix blocked it, grabbed hold of her leg, and flung her away.

Diane quickly picked herself back up. "So, there is some fight in you."

Kendrix then charged Diane and unleashed punch after punch upon her, but Diane was too quick and avoided or blocked all of them before kicking Kendrix to the ground. Kendrix was able to slowly get up despite the heavy blow and continued staring down Diane. Even with her visor shielding her eyes, Diane could sense that same unwavering, unflinching look of determination glaring at her.

"You have no one to impress here, Pink Ranger. Fighting me will only lead to your death."

Kendrix got back into her fighting stance. "Do I look dead to you?"

"A warrior's death then. Very well."

Diane charged Kendrix, faked a punch, and then snuck behind her to land a kick to her backside. Kendrix could feel and hear one of her rips snapping under the punishing power of Diane's stiff blow. She rolled to the floor, grieving in pain, but still found the strength to will herself up from the ground.

Diane was getting more than a little annoyed by Kendrix's show of resilience. She then attempted to grab Kendrix, but Kendrix ducked under her attempt and threw her to the ground before punching Diane right in the face.

"You pitiful insubordinate!" cried Diane.

Kendrix pinned Diane to the ground. "Take a second and look at what you've done!"

Diane ceased her struggle to look to her fallen son. From where she was, she couldn't even tell if he was still breathing. She knew the exact voltage. She didn't aim to kill with that shot. Could she have lost control? Miscalculated? The fearful thoughts ran laps inside her head. "Jason… my son…"

Kendrix slowly lifted herself off of Diane. "You've done some terrible things… but it's never too late to change."

"C… Change…?"

Kendrix walked over to Jason to check on him. His pulse was still strong. Kendrix sighed in relief. "He's going to be just fine."

Diane watched as Kendrix smoothed her son with affection and started getting frustrated. She quickly picked herself back up, grabbed Kendrix by the neck and repeatedly punched her in the face. Her helmet started to chip and crack before Diane threw her into a wall. The surge of pain forced Kendrix out of Ranger mode.

"You conniving little witch! My son was a proper man before you entered his life! This… is your doing!"

Kendrix managed to pull herself back up again, but her legs were wobbly and her strength was running dry.

Diane marched right up to her and kicked her in the face. The blow sent her glasses flying off of her face, leaving a sizable gash on her cheek. Her eyewear floated all the way to the other side of the room; the right lens cracking upon impact. Kendrix was back on the floor, trying to will herself up again, but stumbled and fell back to the ground.

"Your resistance has finally dimmed." Diane took out her blaster and loaded it. "Things were so simple when my love and protection was all he needed. His heart was warped when he met you. So, it's only fitting that I stop yours. Hmm, and here you are, in the end, bowing down to the one true Queen." Diane pressed her blaster against Kendrix's chest.

Suddenly, Diane's blaster was shot right out of her hands. She quickly turned around to see Carter, alongside a battle damaged Ethan and Taylor, confronting her with their own blasters pointed her way.

After firing, Ethan was forced back to his knees while he winced in pain. "Sorry… guys… I think that's… it for today."

"We'll take it from here." Carter replied.

Diane kept tight hold of Kendrix and used her as a shield against the others. "Consider your next move very carefully, Rangers."

"Damn her…!" Taylor cried.

Just then, Jason started picking himself up. His senses were slowly starting to return to him as he tried to comprehend the current scene. Upon seeing Kendrix, his body seemed to move instinctively as he ran as fast as his legs could take him towards her. "Mother! Stop!"

Diane was shocked by his sudden recovery. "You dare… You dare side with this wench over your own flesh and blood!?"

Diane's anger loosened her grip just enough for Kendrix to hobble away from her. Diane then charged up her lightning and fired it upon Kendrix. "Die, you foul seductress!"

Jason quickly moved in front of her and summoned as much aura as he could muster, this time in the form of a semi-circular green shield, to protect both of them. "Never… again… Never again!"

"My… son…" Diane's mind seemed to go blank. Her control faded, as if sand was slipping through the fingers. She pushed as many volts as she could into her attack.

"Mother, please!" screamed Jason. "We can still… stop this!"

But Diane could no longer register the pleas of her son. She did not waver. She did not stop. She kept pushing forward without a single word or reaction. All while Jason could feel his muscles start to scream at him. He would not be able to hold her off for very much longer.

Taylor started limping closer to the scene. "I've… gotta get in there!"

Carter stopped her. "You'd only die for no reason. We have to wait for a clear shot."

"He'll die if we wait!"

Jason looked back at Kendrix, who couldn't even pick herself up anymore, but still wore that gentle smile on her bloodied face seeing him stand strong. Tears raced down Jason's face as he turned back around to face Diane.

 _I'm sorry_ … Jason pushed through the pain and rose the level of his aura. He could feel it sapping away his life force as the aura grew and started to overpower the electric field. With one final cry of anguish, with one final push, his aura sliced through the lighting and towards Diane. Diane looked with dead eyes as the aura stream penetrated her armor into her body and blasted out from her back. Diane and Jason both looked directly at each other with defeated expressions as both their eyes shut while they collapsed upon the floor.

Carter raced over to Jason while Kendrix crawled towards him to check his pulse.

"Jason and Ethan, they both took direct hits from Diane's lightning," Kendrix said while starting to panic feeling Jason's lowered pulse. "Jason used that strange power of his, but I think he used too much and—"

"Don't worry," Carter replied. "We're getting them both out of here."

Just as soon, Leo and the Galaxy Rangers entered the scene. "The cavalry has arr— Oh…"

Kai ran to Jason. "I'll get him on my Jet Jammer right away."

Kendrix smiled at him. "Thank you, Kai."

Leo ran over to assist Ethan. "I'll take Ethan."

Karone wanted to assist Taylor, but Taylor waved her off. "Focus on them… I'll manage."

Karone ignored her stubbornness and helped her walk anyways. "You're about 3 minutes away from dangerous levels of blood loss yourself. This isn't the time to play tough."

Diane was lying helplessly on the ground, struggling to pick herself back up while the gaping hole adorning her body continued to bleed out, painting the floor with a deep crimson.

"Guys, she's still kicking." said Leo.

"Leave her to me," Carter replied. "Everyone else get the injured medical attention right away."

"On it." Kai replied.

While Kai, Leo, Damon, and Maya helped Ethan and Jason get treatment, Taylor held Karone up and walked back towards Diane.

"Come to… gloat… have… you?" asked Diane weakly.

But all Taylor could do was look at the waning light in her eyes and the smattering of blood all around her and feel sorrow. All she could wonder is what level of madness could lead anyone to this point. She shook her head and turned away. She didn't want to know the answer.

"Can we save her?" asked Kendrix.

Carter inspected her carefully. "It'd be hard to move her, but maybe if we can—"

Diane slowly lifted up her arm and motioned the pair away. "Don't… even… think of it…" Diane breathed heavily with each uttered word while she faded in and out of consciousness. "Get… my son… out of here… keep… him… s… safe…"

Carter nodded. "We will."

The rest of the team turned around and looked away, leaving Diane all by herself for what remained of her life. She was alone once more. Powerless once more. She thought back to her younger days, back to the first time she felt it. She thought back to her drunkard father stumbling home after his layoff and taking it out on her overly patient mother. Back to how she cowered behind the living room chair, closing her eyes and covering her ears. She couldn't protect her then. She couldn't protect him now.

Diane thought back to later days. Back to when she met the love of her life. Back to when they produced the second love of her life. She remembered the warmth of his hearty laugh, the way it stripped away the day's stress. So strong-willed and determined. Jason took after him quite a bit. She remembered the way Jason hung onto her leg when he was little. He hardly ever wanted to leave her side back then. It all felt so distant now as she prepared to embrace death. Everything she sought to protect so fervently was gone. Everything she clung so tightly to was now a fading memory. But she took some solace, seeing her only child being taken away, and hopefully saved.

 _My son… I loved you. You may choose to never believe it, but I did. What I did… I did for us. So… nobody… could… ever_ …

Diane succumbed to her injuries and passed to the next life. She was no longer angry, or frustrated, over even disappointed. She was no longer a malevolent ruler, or an Admiral in disguise. Rather, all she was in the end was a prideful mother. Her son was stronger than she ever realized. In her final thought, she believed in just one thing: Jason could protect himself.


	8. Forever

**Chapter 17: Forever**

A full day passed since Diane terrorized Terra Venture. During city clean up, the enforcers acquired her body and preserved it inside a cold storage container to bring back home. Between their efforts and that of the Rangers, no civilian suffered any major or fatal injuries that day. But among the enforcers grew a creeping sense of dread for what was to come. Finding a way to return home was one matter, but none could address the question of what would happen when they return to Earth with the body of the late Queen. Suffice to say, their current occupations were anything but secure.

From the inside of one of Terra Venture's medical facilities, Jason's eyes finally began to open. He felt the harsh sting of the room's lights hitting his eyes; his first dose of brightness in hours. He felt a more delicate, softer sensation inside of his hand. He turned his head to find Kendrix right beside him, holding his hand and smiling brightly. The stinging quickly faded.

"Good morning. Glad to see you finally awake."

Jason looked around at his surrounding. Some kind of odd tubing was connected to him in multiple areas. He could move around just barely, but he could hardly feel his arms and legs. It was a novel sensation, to feel so thoroughly spent and beaten. In an odd way, he enjoyed the feeling. He started to speak with a weakened, rough, labored voice, "So, I'm alive, huh? That's nice… Don't quite remember all the details of our battle, but I'm guessing everything worked out?"

Kendrix lightly kissed him on the cheek. "Yes. It's really over."

"And the others?"

"Doing just fine. Ethan still hasn't woken up yet, but he's in stable condition. Taylor was good to go after a blood transfusion. And Carter had a few scrapes from his time spent inside a burning building, but nothing serious."

Jason looked worriedly upon the bandage on Kendrix' cheek. He forced his hand up and gently placed it against her face. "And how about you? Are you doing alright?"

"Oh, this? It's nothing." Kendrix pressed Jason's hand tighter against her cheek. "Besides, it was my turn to be strong and protect you for a change. And I'd gladly do it again."

Jason could feel his hairs stand on end hearing the soft, yet empowering tenor of her voice. Even with his glasses on a counter next to him, he could see her so clearly. He tried to stand himself up, but wasn't making any progress.

Kendrix gently pushed him back on his bed. "Not so fast. You haven't fully recovered yet. Promise me you won't push yourself until you've gotten more rest."

"Heh, yeah, sounds good. I don't think I've got much of a choice right now anyways… Kendrix… what of my mother? Is she… recovering too?"

Kendrix gripped his hand tighter as she struggled to come up with the words. Jason's memories were slowly flowing back like a gentle stream in the wind. He remembered the exact moment when he convinced himself that there was no other way.

"Jason… I'm so so sorry. She… didn't make it…"

"I see." Jason took a deep breath and smiled. "But, it can't be helped. It was either her or us, right?"

Kendrix tried to compose herself. "R-Right… I'll be back with some food. You haven't eaten anything solid in awhile."

As Kendrix got up and left the room, Jason laid there in silent contemplation of everything that had happened. He kept repeating the statement in his head over and over again; trying to convince himself of his previous statement. There was no other way. It was between her or them. He had to do what was right, what made sense in the moment. He wasn't quite convincing enough. He broke down in the tears he tried to repress for so long. His mother was gone; sent to the next life because of a move he could never take back.

The day came and the day went, with Jason spending most of it bedridden. The day would have passed much slower if not for Kendrix' constant presence. Even when Jason told her she could go off and do other things, she'd say that this is where she wanted to be. Within the hours they spent together, laughing, talking, and sharing life stories, Jason finally told her the tale of how he first became heavily invested in Power Rangers.

Jason was a young child at the time, no older than eight or nine. It was around that time that he started becoming close friends with Professor Knox, who was in the beginning stages of his greatest accomplishment: re-discovering the secrets to time travel and temporal distortions. As it were, one of his biggest sources of data on the topic came from two sources: the first being the incredibly ancient but very useful documents originating from a city called Silver Hills. All the way back in the year 2001, there was a team known as the Time Force Rangers who traveled back from the year 3000 to stop a mutant named Ransik. For obvious reasons, neither Jason nor Carter could tell Alex all the details of events yet to come. The second came from a dimension shattering event thought to be caused by the actions of the Dino Charge Power Rangers, a team that altered prehistoric events and created a brand new dimension. Knox would often point out how peculiar it felt that he was studying events that both hadn't happened yet and already happened to help an organization in Time Force that didn't yet exist discover something it would ultimately rely on. Although, the mechanics of the situation tended to confuse younger Jason more so than inform him.

Learning about the Time Force Rangers, experiencing their journey through the Ranger archives, but more than that, being engrossed by it, was the spark Jason needed to learn everything he could about Rangers. He accessed all the data he could find on the topic, all the footage, reports, and accounts that still existed. Most of that data was thankfully preserved in one central hub, a hub once monitored by Dr. Tommy Oliver, the most storied Ranger of them all.

He watched as Zordon of Eltar granted morphers to five teenagers with attitude, creating the first known team of Power Rangers. There were hints of a Zordon-led team on Earth years prior to the Angel Grove six, but nothing the current archives could confirm. He laughed as Ziggy Grover of RPM cracked joke after joke, much to the chagrin of his teammates. He held tightly to his seat as the Wild Force Rangers fought powerless in the pouring rain against the seemingly unstoppable Master Org. And he mourned when the girl sitting right next to him sacrificed herself to save her fellow Rangers, Terra Venture, and everyone on it, against Psycho Pink. Thankfully, she managed to be revived when the journey ended and Mirinoi was settled upon.

Jason tore through hours and hours of Ranger stories. He became a super fan, which also made him an outlier. In his time, the Power Rangers hadn't been active for nearly a millennium. The archives seemed to prove as much. After Dino Charge created an alternate reality, the archives simply ended. There must have been more Ranger teams, but there was no data to support the claim. As such, in the year 2990, the Power Rangers are only known to a handful of systems and planets, such as Mirinoi and Eltar, but are practically forgotten about on Earth, in spite of their storied history. But perhaps that was fitting. Earth as it currently stood was a nation that always looked forward more so than backwards, never seeking to immortalize the past as much as more tradition-bound planets.

But despite his odd fascination, Jason continued to watch, re-watch, and draw inspiration from the Power Rangers for years. They made him feel as if the world, even the universe, was not too big to save. They made him believe that anyone can be a hero. And then, in a remarkably twist of fate, Carter Grayson appeared five years ago to help bring the Power Rangers back.

"And the rest is history." Jason finished.

Kendrix gently applauded.

The storytelling was able to ease Jason's mind. It gave him an avenue to be enthusiastic again, to feel inspired again. He could tell Kendrix was enjoying his dramatic hand flailing and detailed explanations as well. She didn't know too much about other Ranger teams, so it was a fascinating experience to hear about everything those before and after her accomplished.

The next day saw Jason and the Chronic Storm team back on their feets after making full recoveries. Having fulfilled their responsibilities, it was time to depart for home. Unfortunately, Ethan was still struggling to figure out how to use the Galaxy Book to re-create the portal that brought them here in the first place. He had a few theories based on what Kendrix and him managed to piece together, but nothing concrete. What they knew is that chanting certain spells in the Galaxy Book backwards would create the reverse effect of the spell proper. Using that knowledge and combining several spells lead the pair to a possible solution. All that's left was to test it.

Both Ranger teams gathered outside around where the rift closed up alongside Alex and the enforcers. Ethan was carefully perusing the Galaxy Book with one hand while he held up a tablet full of spell translations in the other hand. He mumbled to himself to practice the incantation as they walked towards the small green hill down the path.

Jason and Kendrix were hand in hand, inseparable the entire walk over. Kai noticed and slowed down his walk to line up next to them. "Jason, could I steal you away for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Uh oh, this is guy talk, isn't it?" asked Kendrix.

"Something like that." replied Kai.

Kendrix walked on ahead.

"Jason, there's something that we need to talk about," Kai started. "Even if you might not want to."

Jason knew exactly what he meant from the look he gave. "What's up?"

"You and Kendrix, you're pretty close, right?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. It's pretty amazing, all the things we've been through together in not so long a time period, relatively speaking."

Kai nodded. "So, what's your plan here?"

"Plan…? Well I… we haven't really talked too much about that…"

"I know you're a smart guy. Which means you also know that a relationship across 990 years is a bit much to ask for. At some point, you'll need to make a hard choice and you'd better give it more thought than that. I've been her friend for years. I won't forgive you if you handle this any other way."

Jason knew that Kai was right. And more than that, he owed Kendrix a hard choice. He also owed her the full truth. But before Jason could formulate another thought, the group had arrived at the foot of the small green hill.

Ethan took a deep breath and placed the open Galaxy Book on the ground. "Let's hope this works, or we're all gonna find ourselves in another lost galaxy."

"You can do this, Ethan." Kendrix replied.

"Okay." Ethan cleared his throat and prepared to read the spell, "Avokah… uhh… Eti…? Etinalem—"

Suddenly, the wind began to quicken, blowing through the trees and shaking away the leaves. From out of the sky, a tiny blue rift could be seen growing and expanding until it was the size of a small lake.

"Uhh, Ethan…?" Carter asked.

Ethan quickly threw his hands up. "Hey, don't look at me, I wasn't even halfway through the spell!"

A black fighter ship ripped through the portal and starting flying towards Terra Venture. Jason recognized the design immediately. "That's a Triforian vessel…"

"Triforian?" Kai asked. "The same Triforians that you're enemies with?"

"The mission's not over yet." Carter added.

Jason's morpher started to buzz and click uncontrollably until the cold, sinister voice of General Axis could be heard, "Hello there, old friend."

"Axis! What are you doing here?" reacted Jason.

"What else? I'm here to erase your lineage. You and your friends running off through time cannot save you from me. Meet me at the southern exit of these ruins immediately, or I'll ruin them further."

"Ruins?" Jason looked to Maya. "Where is that?"

"Nowhere close." Maya replied.

"Wait a second, wait a second," Axis added. "Ah, those are just hideous looking buildings. Ahem, my mistake… In any case, making me wait would be regrettable, Green Ranger. You may tell your cursed mother the same."

The transmission cut out.

"He's got time warp technology," Jason said. "But how?"

"We'll figure that out once we beat him," replied Carter. "Let's move guys."

"Go, Galactic!"

"Chronic Storm, Ranger form!"

The teams morphed up and made their way to Terra Venture's South Gate, an area mostly used for factories and warehouses, making it relatively free of civilians. It was a lucky break for the Rangers, who could focus on fighting more than collateral damage. The Rangers arrived to find Axis all by himself, leaning on the gate while tapping his foot.

"We're here, Axis!" announced Carter.

"That took a little longer than expected," Axis replied. "Not that I'm bitter or anything."

Axis started to power up his lightning glove when Jason motioned him to wait. "Axis, we don't have to fight."

"Of course we do, Green Ranger! I've come too far and sacrificed too much to let this day end in any other way. The power to rule my people belongs to me and me alone!"

"But… that's just the thing… I think I kind of agree with you."

"You… what…?" replied a bewildered Axis. "Of what trickery is this? You are the son of a liar and a killer, born and raised to be one yourself and you expect me to seek truth in your words? What kind of fool do you take me for?"

The other Rangers got their weapons ready, but Jason motioned for them to ease up. "Listen to me…! She's gone…"

Axis looked confused by his response.

"Queen Diane… she attacked Terra Venture to get to us. She had gone too far, so… I made a hard call… She's gone. And there's no chance that once her actions make their reporting rounds that I'll become some kind of king or whatever. The kingdom, the throne, the universal monarchy, all of it has to go."

Axis looked absolutely stunned by the news. But he couldn't bring himself to believe it. "You… liars!" Axis sent a fierce electrical wave straight at the Rangers, knocking them back. "You nearly had me, oh did you ever so nearly have me buying that ridiculous tale. You didn't even have the stomach to take me out when I threatened your entire race, so why would I believe you had it within you to take out your own mother?"

Jason got behind Axis. Just as Axis was bracing himself for an offensive maneuver, Jason demorphed. "She betrayed us all. To her, we were nothing more than a means of defending her own power. You of all people should believe that much." Jason removed his morpher and threw it at the feet of Axis. "You once said that you and I weren't so different. And now, we do have something very real in common: a need to move past Diane and look towards a brighter future for both of our worlds, for all worlds."

"Listen to him, Axis." Carter stated.

Axis picked up Jason's morpher and thought about his words. He began to realize that Jason was making sense. He knew that Diane would come here to eliminate the Rangers. Even if they had no intentions of slaying her, if she cornered them, limited their options. They may have been left with no other choice. "You'd be willing to drop your guard against me, just to prove a point? Heh, you and your bravery."

Axis blindsided Jason with a punch to his face. The others started to move in but Jason motioned them back. "No need, guys." Jason picked himself back up. "There are ways to win without fighting."

"You… fool!" Axis kicked him to the ground, but Jason picked himself back up, refusing to get into his fighting stance. "Fight back or stand idly by while I pick off your friends one by one!"

"Axis! We can work all of this out, together. You want uninhibited rule of Triforia, and honestly, I'm starting to think every planet should have that choice. Alliances are one thing, but that was never what the monarchy was built on. I don't know much about this stuff, but I know there has to be a better way."

"A better way… You speak of an independent universal democracy… a system of planets ruled by the people."

Jason hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, sure, that sounds… good…?" Jason turned to the others. "Democracy is good, right?"

Carter nodded. "It's the best system I know."

Taylor concurred. "It's not perfect, but it's worth fighting for."

Jason smiled and looked back to Axis. "Rave reviews across the board. So, what'll it be?"

Axis cocked back another punch, but hesitated to strike again. "Why must you make this so difficult, Green Ranger? You speak more like one of my senators than an enemy."

"It's like I said, we all got played here. Regardless of what people say about you and the heinous crimes you've committed, no one can deny that you worked hard and overcame plenty of obstacles to get to where you are. And, I'm just guessing on this one, but you probably also had a few role models you wanted to be just like, right?"

"Hmph, a few… There was Pyreus, of course, but few I sought to mirror more than Former General Raigon. He was harsh as they come, but his relentlessness was necessary. For years he'd… wait, why exactly am I swapping stories with you?"

Jason giggled a bit while looking back at Taylor. "Stop me if you've heard this one before but, you and I, we aren't so different."

Axis rolled his eyes.

"And you are a living example of what leadership should be… well, minus the invasions and the murders and the torturing, and of course the—"

"A nostalgic list to be sure, Green Ranger, but I quite get it."

"Heh, anyways… you're exactly what your planet needs right now."

"No arguing that… But even if I believed your words. Even if I knew I could trust you and your Earther kind to never bring back the throne. Why would I take such a risk when I can end you right now?"

"Can't say I don't follow your thinking. And if that's your conclusion, then you have a mission to finish."

Axis glared back at his odd smile. "Is that so?"

Jason the got into his fighting stance. "But I have to warn you, I'm a Power Ranger. And that means I'm never alone. So, if you fight me, we'll all fight back. The decision is yours to make but I'd think about the odds here."

Axis hesitated to make a move while the other Rangers had blasters aimed directly at him. He couldn't help but smirk. He had half expected a one on one fight. But as is, he had no choice but to place some his trust in his enemies, knowing that he could end their lives some other day when he has back up lying in wait. "I'm starting to realize… that perhaps killing you isn't the way to resolve all of this. It's what most of my people would have done. It's what my real brother would have done, surely." Axis walked up to Jason and placed the Green morpher into his hands. "But, not me. Not this day."

"Well, I can't say that I'm disappointed." Jason slapped his morpher back on his wrist. He then motioned the others to come over. But they were all still on high alert.

Kendrix demorphed and ran over to hug Jason.

Axis looked at the two with a tiny smirk. "I thought the world of a female once, much like how you've always fancied this Pink Ranger."

Jason chuckeld. "Geez, was it always that obvious?"

The entire group began to laugh.

"You know, I had a feeling." Leo replied.

Taylor shook her head. "I could tell within five minutes."

"Took me a little longer," added Carter. "But I caught on."

Jason looked to Kendrix who nodded. "You did make it pretty obvious, hehe."

"Alright alright, I get it."

"But I liked that about you. I thought it was cute."

Jason looked back at Axis. He could tell that Axis actually looked heavily troubled while caught inside a memory deeply seared into his mind. It was somewhat unnerving seeing him in such a state. "She meant a lot to you, huh?"

Axis took a deep breath while his thoughts dwelled on the woman he once loved. "Yes… She was ever so energetic, filled to the brim with life and happiness. But… she was taken from me… far too soon. To have just a handful of those moments back…"

"I'm sorry to hear that…" A thought suddenly occurred to Jason. "The time warp technology… is she why you wanted it?"

Axis turned around and began to walk through the South Gate. "I believe it's time we all went home. I'll be waiting by my ship just beyond that elevation over there. Say whatever you need say before you're done here and have no regrets about it, Green Ranger."

"Just to be clear here, we're done trying to kill each other, right?"

Axis stopped walking. "You are not planning on ascending to the throne, correct?"

"No chance."

Axis kept walking. "We've both spared the other twice now, Green Ranger. Let's do well to avoid a tiebreaker."

"Uhh, are we actually hitching a ride from _him_?" asked Ethan.

"I don't trust him either," Taylor replied. "But it's looking like the only way home we have right now."

"Pssh, got that right. Who knows what could have happened if I completed that spell?"

"We'll take him up on his offer to get us back to the year 2990," Carter added. "But we'll keep a close eye on him until we get there."

Jason placed his hand in the center of the group. "There's nothing quite like being a Ranger, huh?"

Everyone else joined in.

"Who's doing the honors?" asked Leo.

Kendrix looked to Jason. "How about it, Green Ranger?"

"Hehe, nah. It's all you, Taylor."

Taylor looked back at him surprised.

"Admit it. You missed this, and you'll miss us."

Taylor tried to hold in a smile before full on laughing. Her teammates exchanged concerned looks. They weren't sure if this was the same person. "Okay okay… I did… and I will… Power Rangers forever."

"Power Rangers forever!" cried the group.

The Rangers started to exchange individual goodbyes as Alex and the enforcers joined them. He too was not a fan of the current plan, but it was either that, or risk ripping a hole through the space-time continuum, potentially destroying the entire planet and beyond. After having it all explained, Alex seemed a lot more comfortable with plan A.

As they proceeded towards the South Gate, the sight caught Jason's eye; his mother encased in a cold preservation apparatus. He could barely make out her face behind the opaque casing. His mind forced him back into the moment. He told himself he had no choice, but every reliving was another question, another lingering doubt. And yet, his grandest doubt laid strapped upon his weighed wrist. Jason looked down at his morpher. Diane drove herself mad attempting to control and protect everything, and failing. If he ever failed to bear this weight, Jason thought, what would be his final fate? As her body was moved further and further away, his mind regained clarity. Jason looked back at Kendrix who was giving Ethan a big hug. He knew that the time was drawing near.

Kendrix was slow to undo her morpher from her wrist. She had to finally acknowledge that the mission had reached its end. But she was allowed to hold onto the Chronic Storm uniform, along with Taylor and Ethan. A small but sentimental reminder of their harrowing journey together.

As the other Rangers finished exchanging goodbyes, Carter and the Chronic Storm Rangers decided to give Jason and Kendrix some time alone. The Galaxy Rangers followed suit. Kai nodded to Jason in acknowledgement and Jason mirrored the action. Everyone understood the difficulty of what was to come.

Jason finally approached Kendrix once the others had cleared out.

"Hey, you." she started.

"Hey…"

An awkward silence swept over them. Not even the factories in the background were making a sound, almost as if to acknowledge the moment. Jason wore a pensive look on his face while he tried to think of a way to articulate what he wanted to say.

Kendrix stopped thinking and tightly hugged him. "Can we please just stay right here for a bit and not have to say anything?"

Jason hugged her back.

Another minute of silence ensued as the pair embraced each other tightly, losing sight of everything that surrounded them while they basked in each other's warmth.

Kendrix finally broke the silence, "I know I'm asking a lot of you… but, I don't want you to leave."

"I don't want to leave you either… Kendrix… I love you."

Kendrix' eyes widened. "You… love me…?"

Jason started to panic. "Crap! I said it all wrong, didn't I? I-I can start over, make it all suave and stuff, yeah?"

Kendrix giggled while wiping a single tear from her eye. "I think… I've always known how we really felt about each other. I was just afraid of sounding like a dork, so I never told you first."

"You a dork? Just look who you're speaking too— Wait… you just said…"

Kendrix nodded. "I love you too, Jason."

Jason felt unparalleled relief and joy. All of a sudden, the weight of recent struggles felt much less heavy.

"Stay," said Kendrix as Jason gazed deeply into her eyes. "You can stay… for me."

"Kendrix… I just… this isn't my time and… and I just belong there and… I don't even know what I'm saying right now."

"Don't overthink it. Just tell me what you feel, like you did before."

Jason took a deep breath and composed himself. "What I feel… Alright… So, what kind of jobs do you guys got around here? You know, I always thought I'd make a good teacher. I like kids, they like me, sometimes. Or maybe something in Kai's area. You know the GSA has always fascinated me. What does that acronym even stand for anyw—"

Kendrix pulled Jason's head closer to her and pressed her lips against his. Once more, time seemed to hold as they lost themselves inside the other.

Kendrix released her lips, still with a few trailing tears of joy, while still radiating that perfect smile. "Hehe, Galactic Space Alliance."

Jason giggled. "Ehh, a little redundant."

Meanwhile, the other Chronic Storm Rangers, along with Alex and the enforcers, were waiting next to Axis' ship. They had been waiting for quite a while to that point, and Alex was losing patience.

"What could be keeping Jason?" he asked. "He must have said goodbye to Kendrix 1,000 times by now."

Carter shook his head and laughed. "When it's love, it's a little harder than a simple goodbye. You'll know it when you feel it, Alex."

"I try to focus more on my work than romance."

"No I hear you. I was the same way, heh, then Dana happened."

"We'll give them all the time they need," Taylor added. "We owe them that much."

Axis rolled his eyes while leaning against his ship. "Yes, of course. Not like I have an entire planet to run or anything…"

Suddenly, Jason and Kendrix appeared a little ways down the path. The others looked surprised to see Kendrix here.

"What?" Kendrix asked. "I don't get to say one last goodbye to my Ranger family?"

"And there's something else," added Jason. "Guys… I had to make a very tough decision. But I've thought it through, it's been made, and I stand by it."

The others stared intently at him.

"...I'm staying here, in the year 2000."

Ethan laughed. "Called it."

Alex shook his head. "This has to be a violation of several protocols."

"Jason, are you sure about this?" asked Carter. "We can't force you to come back, but that's where your home is, where your whole life is."

"Where it _was_." Jason smiled back at Kendrix. "My home, my life, is with her now."

Jason removed his morpher and handed it to Carter. "I cannot quantify all the ways you've helped me grow, Carter. I'm a better person because of you. None of this would have been possible without your leadership."

Carter smiled and hugged Jason. "None of this would have been possible without a great team."

Jason moved on to Ethan. "Ethan, your brilliance in the face of any challenge is an inspiration. We need more Rangers like you."

Ethan smiled and hugged Jason. "I do what I can. Thanks, Jason."

Jason moved on to Taylor. "Taylor… thank you, for knocking me to the ground so many times. You were hard on me, like, _really_ hard on me, but I needed that. Being a Ranger is brutal work sometimes, and the kid I used to be never saw that. It maybe goes without saying, but I'll miss you too."

Taylor shook her head and hugged Jason tightly. "You grew up a little, but you'll always be a kid to me."

"Oh come on!"

Taylor laughed. "Just promise me you two will take good care of each other."

"We will. I won't let her go… figuratively, of course."

"Me neither." Kendrix replied.

Alex then firmly shook Jason's hand. "It's been an honor and a pleasure serving alongside you, Jason."

"Likewise, Alex. You'll make a great Ranger of your own someday—" Jason quickly caught himself thinking through the Ranger archives. He knew he shouldn't reveal the future, but it left him feeling guilty about his shortsighted comment.

With the goodbyes completed and the pleasantries exchanged, what remained of Chronic Storm boarded Axis' ship and lifted into the sky. From the windows, they waved their final goodbyes to Jason and Kendrix.

Even General Axis subtly nodded, acknowledging the Ranger that had opposed him so relentlessly. _Until we meet again… Jason_.

With the push of a button, Axis' ship created another swirling time portal in front of them. He hit the thrusters and the ship disappeared, traveling 990 years forward in an instant with the portal dissipating soon after.

Once the ship was out of sight, Jason grabbed Kendrix and passionately kissed her.

"So, what should we do now?" she asked.

"I was playing it for laughs before, but I do have to start thinking about earning my keep around here. So I'm thinking I'll go to Kai ask him about—" Jason stopped himself. "But first, I'm thinking that I'm just going to spend a whole lot of time with you. Hope you haven't gotten sick of me yet."

Kendrix laughed. "Never."

The pair walked the path towards Terra Venture one more time, hand in hand.

Meanwhile, back in the year 2990, it was just an average ordinary day at Time Force HQ. The officers had heard rumors of some large scale changes, but Captain Logan thought it best to keep everyone in the dark about the current state of matters for the time being. Inside his office, he was taking a video call from a man who looked to be several years his elder.

"Alex has confirmed it, Prime Minister Zahab," Logan said. "Queen Diane has fallen."

Zahab deeply sighed. "This is a complicated matter, Captain. We must take great care with how we dispense this information to the people."

"Of course."

"Let us be clear, Captain. Queen Diane was not killed by the Power Rangers. Queen Diane sacrificed herself for the good of the kingdom, and the Rangers could do nothing to stop it. And, in her waning moments, she had a revelation, one that would see her monarchy transformed into a government by the people, for the people."

"Prime Minister…? Are you suggesting that we purposely mislead the public?"

"I'm suggesting allowing children the universe over to sleep soundly at night under the knowledge that their former overlord was _not_ a tyrannical monster. After all, we are in the business of protection, Captain."

"Of course, Prime Minister. I understand."

"I knew you would. However, the fallout from her death will, sadly, be unavoidable. You and I both know that a certain mutant will take full advantage of our situation. I trust that you have a plan in place?"

Logan nodded confidently. "Our research division recently acquired an invaluable new member. With him, our weapons technology will be exponentially more advanced. We will be ready."

Zahab nodded. "I leave that in your capable hands then, Captain. I shall handle the political transition myself."

The video call faded away.

Later in the day, Captain Logan took a visit down to the high priority prisoner cells. He soon reached the cell of Dr. Madman, who had been given his own workspace inside his cell where he was being commissioned to develop brand new technology for Time Force.

Madman noticed him as he walked into his cell. "Ohhh, the great Captain Logan visits me?"

"Let's make this quick, Doctor. This work space of yours, tiny, isn't it?"

"Tiny AND limited. Do you know how many security bypasses I had to clear just to access to meaty stuff?"

Logan thought about rerimaning him for hacking their systems, but let it go. "Here's the lowdown, Doc: you've got a brilliant mind and we need some brilliant new weapons." Logan then pulled out a holographic display of five spaceship-like machines. "These are the Time Flyers, Doctor. Time Force's next and greatest line of defense. I've heard tell of a mutant on the rise doing some recruiting, banding those freaks together. We'll need some big boy toys to stop him and anyone else that tries to take advantage of these uncertain times."

"Hehehe, uncertainty you say? Sounds like my kind of party."

"We'll need a few pilots too." Logan changed the holographic display to reveal what looked to be a new type of morpher. "The Chrono Morphers. Chronic Storm was an invaluable ally, but what's left of them belong to the past. It's on us to protect the present with our own brand of Power Rangers."

Madman chuckled. "And what in it for me?"

"You can tinker with all the gizmos and gadgets you want. We've got a much bigger playground for you upstairs, trust me. And, if you succeed, I can secure early parole. Do your part Doctor, and we might just convince some very important people that you're not a maniac."

Logan started making his way out of the cell.

"Captain!" cried Madman.

Logan turned around.

"What colors would you like? For the morphers?" asked Madman with a grin.

Logan smirked and kept walking away as Madman's laugh bounced and echoed through the empty halls. He cut off his laugh and rubbed his hands with a menacing sneer about him. "My turn!"


End file.
